


This Torture is Ecstasy

by Coolbeanzed



Category: CSI: NY
Genre: :D, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Humor, Bondage, First Time Blow Jobs, First Time Bottoming, First Time Topping, Friends to Lovers, From Sex to Love, I'll stop adding tags now, M/M, Please read, Porn With Plot, Threesome - M/M/M, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 01:27:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 38,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3591201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolbeanzed/pseuds/Coolbeanzed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don loves Mac. Mac loves Danny. Danny loves Don. This can't have a simple solution.</p>
<p>Don thinks he is invincible, and it will catch up to him. Mac is a workaholic, and Danny is Danny.</p>
<p>How will these three men cope with the horrific events that have occurred in the past, and those that will occur in the future?</p>
<p>Will they learn to turn to each other for support? Or will their friendships crash and burn?</p>
<p>Please give it a read, I think you'll enjoy it :D</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it, and please do leave me a comment to let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your feedback!
> 
> There will be some plot from CSI used, and some of my own.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the plot used in CSI (although I wish I did)
> 
> Enjoy!

_Don Flack had been happy with how things were. Well, the situation wasn't ideal, but it was liveable. Most of the time. The team got along well, again, most of the time. He'd met Danny who quickly became his best friend. And then there was Mac. Don had been drawn to Mac from the moment they'd met. When he'd first gone for the interview for his job, Mac had been strict and slightly formidable, but not intimidating. Don had left the office thinking he'd screwed up the interview by uncharacteristically stammering and being unable to control his nerves. But Mac called him that Friday and told him to be on the job first thing on Monday. Flack had always tried his best, over the years his feelings increased exponentially. They became more intense, more sexual, more deep. Flack knew that Mac cared for him, but he cared greatly for everyone on the team. Don wasn't special. And sometimes that hurt. Especially when he started to notice Mac becoming more and more protective of Danny. No one else paid it any heed, but for Don, every quiet conversation and every time Mac made excuses for Danny or helped him, comforted him, laughed with him, were all signs of exactly what Don was going through with his boss. The day he became certain of Mac's feelings for Danny was when the blonde was taken hostage by the Irish drug gang. That day was a particularly bad day. He was terrified himself, terrified of the situation, terrified of losing his best friend, and Adam. Terrified that Stella and Hawkes would be killed in the building with the Irishmen.....terrified of losing Mac. But what he was most frightened of was the jealously he felt of Mac's protectiveness over Danny after the gang had been apprehended. The guilt that stemmed from that, his inner turmoil caused a bad mood that lasted for weeks. And after that day, it began happening more often. Something bad would happen and he'd be jealous of how Mac immediately checked on Danny before anyone else. And the way Danny reported to Mac each time he discovered something, so proudly, so innocently, so happily. He saw the way Mac couldn't help but smile at him, and sometimes he'd smile as he watched the smaller man walk away bouncily onto his next task. Then, he'd speak to Don and his face would return to normal. The jealousy he felt of Danny was the most difficult thing to live with. He was fine with Mac not returning his feelings, (or even being aware of them) but he wasn't fine with Mac not returning his feelings because he felt that way about his best friend. It was too much to handle. He loved Danny fiercely, he had become the closest friend he'd ever had. But on his bad days, when his jealously would rule his head, he couldn't talk to the shorter man. Some days he could hardly look at him. And he always felt guilty for it, but sometimes he just couldn't do it. On the good days, he'd just accept the situation. But it was never easy. When Don had found out that Mac was being stalked, at the height of the 333 case. He was hurt that Mac had told Stella and not him. Which was ridiculous. But a little part of his mind just couldn't let it go. Of course, his biggest issue with that case was that Mac was in constant danger. Don knew Mac had hardly slept during those months, but he didn't think his boss knowing he'd sat outside his apartment every night keeping watch would have helped. But it made Don feel better._

"Don? Don, can you hear me? Don, look at me." Don wondered vaguely through the fog if he was dreaming as Mac's voice echoed through his mind. His face was close and his hands were on either side of Don's face. Safe, comforting. This was good. This was how it should be. This was the best it was going to get.

"Don! Don't close your eyes on me! I want you to look at me, Don! Look at me!" Don's eyelids were so heavy...but Mac was asking him to open them. Mac wanted him to, he summoned the strength to keep them open and Mac nodded.

"That's good, Don, that's good. Stay with me now. I got you." He was too out of it to feel guilty for enjoying Mac's hands around one of his as he was pulled into the ambulance. An annoying mask was put over his face and he moved his hand to push it off but Mac grabbed it.

"Don't even think about it." Don flickered his eyes in a way that resembled a faint chuckle. The paramedics ripped his shirt open and Mac pulled his chin upwards when he slowly moved to look down, to see what they were doing.

"Don't look. Just concentrate on staying awake. Look at me instead." Don's final thought as he drifted away was wondering wether or not Mac knew about his feelings.

"Get me a nurse in here! We're losing him!" Danny pulled Mac towards the door and they watched in horror as doctors and nurses crowded round Flack's lifeless figure. The defibrillators were pulled out and Danny's ears rushed with blood as the doctor shouted out commands and pushed them to Don's chest, making him arch up off the bed horribly.

"Clear!" They tried again, the horrible flat beep seemed to get louder.

"Ok we'll try again....clear!" Danny hadn't realised he was clutching Mac's shoulder until he moved slightly.

"Once more! CLEAR!" It seemed to happen in slow motion, Don arched up off the bed and flopped back onto it lifelessly, Danny felt his legs give way as the beep remained constant. Mac's arms were round him to catch him, lowering him to the floor gently. Danny couldn't hear himself saying 'no' over and over again.

The doctor turned to the two detectives with a grim expression.


	2. Chapter 2

Then it happened. The beep.

Danny staggered to his feet and moved forwards as the steady beeps started again. Mac clapped a hand on Danny's shoulder, he was so overjoyed that he hugged his boss tightly without thinking. Mac was tense for a second then chuckled and hugged him back.

"Thank god, thank god..."

When the doctors and nurses left, Danny rushed forwards and grabbed hold of one of Flack's hands.

"We're here for you buddy, me and Mac. We're here. Don't you give up on us now, we're not letting you off that easy."

The doctor moved towards Mac. "He took three bullets."

"Three?! I thought he only got hit once."

"No. I'm afraid not. When he's a bit stronger we'll take him into surgery. It's a miracle that none of them have hit any major arteries or organs. We'll be doing surgery tonight."

Mac nodded and thanked him before he left. He looked at the pale, dark headed figure on the bed and felt his pain as keenly as his own. He and Danny refused to leave Flack's side until after the surgery. Even then, Mac forced Danny to leave and get some rest.

He'd been terrified of Flack dying, he'd only realised to what extent when his heart had begun beating again. Mac wasn't the outwardly affectionate type like Danny, but he knew even if he was he wouldn't have reacted the way Danny had. He felt angry with guilt to admit it, but realising that Danny was in love with Don and that they were possibly in a relationship, that they could have been in a relationship since day one...made him slightly jealous. He then couldn't stop himself from thinking back over the years. There were instances where he thought Don could have been being flirtatious with Danny....but he could think of instances where Don had been flirtatious with everyone. Even him. And Mac knew that if Don had acted flirtatiously with _him_....then it definitely wasn't on purpose. And he couldn't see Don going for Lindsay or Hawkes anyways.

"You're doing a great job of this keeping watch thing." Mac flinched and stared at Don in shock.

"Put that back on." He stood to replace the oxygen mask over his colleague's face but Don pushed a horribly weak hand against his arm.

"Wait.....wait.." Mac waited.

"You...were the one who found me? Kept me alive.."

"We'll talk about this later."

"No...you kept me alive...didn't you? Came...came in the ambulance with me?"

"Yes."

"Thank you....." He breathed, seeming almost relieved that he'd been able to get it out. He let Mac place the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose once more.

"You're welcome, Don. Get some sleep, I'll be here when you wake up." Don didn't have time to futilely tell him to go to home or switch places with someone before he fell asleep.

Mac watched over Flack for the rest of the day, watched that day turn to night, until the injured man woke up again and was more alert.

"Don't sit up, you jackass." Danny instructed as he returned. Don smiled affectionately at him and Mac couldn't tell if it was platonic or otherwise.

"Mac...did everyone get out safe? Is Stella alright, Lindsay? How about Hawkes? Adam?! What about-"

"Don, Don calm down. You saved everyone. Once they realised they'd shot a cop they panicked, and that gave us a window to get them. They're all in police custody and they're all going to jail for what they did. Plus shooting you of course. Don't worry yourself, you already died once we don't need your heart giving up again-"

"I died?"

"For about a full three minutes." Danny interjected. Don looked shocked, frowning slightly as he tried to process that thought. He touched his chest lightly and it pained Mac to see him so unsure of himself. He looked like he was trying to feel his heart, trying to make sure it was still beating.

"I can't believe I died...that's just...weird." Danny chuckled.

"Always intellectual. Anyways, Mac, Hawkes asked me to tell you to call him - apparently you haven't been answering your phone?"

"Oh, no it's dead." Danny offered him his and he took it, glad that he didn't have to witness the hug Danny laid on Don that lasted a few seconds too long.

"Thanks, Danny. They've found encrypted emails from certain gang members to various accounts. There's years of material here, we need everyone on this case. Flack, I'm sorry we're gonna have to leave. You get better, take it easy ok? If you need us - call." Danny moved forwards and patted Don's good shoulder before following reluctantly.

 

Don felt his humorous facade strip away as Mac left, causing Danny to follow. He'd died....that just wasn't right. When the doctor returned to check on him, he told him about the three bullets. Don was surprised, he thought he'd been hit twice at the most. Lying alone in the hospital, the ward was unusually quiet, there was only one other patient who was up at the other end, and he was silent. So Don was free to gradually feel emptiness encroach on his mind. He felt hollow, somehow. When the nurse came later on, she told him it was shock. But he wasn't shocked. He'd known when he pulled Mac backwards and ran out to shoot at the gang members that he'd be shot. He knew it and did it anyway. He wasn't in shock. Yeah it hurt, but he'd been shot before, he knew the process. Maybe it was because he'd died. Maybe it was because he was lying in hospital doing nothing whilst his colleagues solved the case without him. Maybe it was because Mac hadn't said anything about him saving his life. Maybe it was because no one else had visited him yet. Maybe, maybe maybe. Don had driven himself half mad by three o'clock in the morning. By the time Stella arrived with a decent cup of coffee at 9am, he was on the verge of tears.

"Thank God you're here, Stel. I hate hospitals." She chuckled and perched on the edge of the bed.

"You hate not working."

"Ain't that the truth..." She put the coffee down and placed a hand on his leg, blinking emotionally.

"Hey, don't set me off." She laughed and hugged him gently.

"You were so brave, Don. I can't thank you enough for what you did. I...I was so scared you weren't gonna make it. Sinclair made me hold the fort at the lab. Then Mac stopped answering his phone, I was so scared we'd lost you."

"Hey, I know I'm pretty but I'm fairly tough." He poked her jokingly but moved to hold her hand which she squeezed his with tightly.

"Clearly. Hawkes and Lindsay send their love, Adam told me to say thank you." He smiled slightly at that, but it was empty just like everything else and Stella saw right through him.

"There's something else wrong, isn't there?"

"No. I'm good. Well...you know. As good as..."

"Flack. Talk to me."

"Nothing Stella I just...I feel weird."

"I'm not surprised you got hit three times then arose from the dead. Plus you're on a lot of pain meds."

"No...it's something else. I know what that feels like. I just feel...empty. Like I'm still dead or something."

"Don't say that, Don."

"Well it's true."

"......can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"I saw the way you....pulled Mac backwards. How you opened your eyes when he asked you to...you were half unconscious so I don't know if you remember but you said his name when the paramedics arrived and took you away from him." Don shifted uncomfortably.

"That's not a question, Stella."

"I think you know what the question is, though..."

"No."

"...do you have...feelings...for Mac, Don?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

"...do you have...feelings...for Mac, Don?" He met her eyes and his expression must have been pained because she squeezed his hand and sighed heavily.

"Don't pity me. Don't."

"I don't pity you. At all. But you know Mac...he's one of the least self-confident people on earth. He probably has no idea-"

"And that's the way it should be."

"Why?!"

"Because if he finds out it'll ruin our friendship!"

"Not necessarily!"

"Yes necessarily!"

"But you can't keep this to yourself forever, it'll eat you alive!"

"Well I've been ok for the past four and a bit years. I think I can manage." He looked at Stella as she fell silent and cringed when he realised he'd just twisted the knife.

"You've had feelings for him since you started??!!" Don pulled a face and she gaped at him.

"How have you managed?!" He shrugged and she made an incredulous noise.

"Well...I never expected anything..and I still don't. He's Mac." That explained everything. Stella nodded knowingly.

"Listen, I have to get back, but...think about telling him. Please."

"Fine, whatever. Don't you dare say anything." She nodded and kissed his cheek before leaving.

 

Don was allowed out of hospital the next day with strict instructions not to work, do any physical exercise whatsoever, or basically leave his apartment at all. Fun. He called Danny to let him know, not wanting to talk to Mac directly. He'd been spoilt by Mac's attention the past couple of days, he knew if he didn't cut him off for a while that he'd suffer a lull of depression. Danny came round after his shift with takeout food that made Don's mouth water.

"I thought you might need something unhealthy after all the hospital crap."

"Good man." They settled down with the food in front of a hockey game - no beer for Don, much to his disgust - and chilled out together.

"How's the case going?"

"You're not meant to be working."

"Come on, Danny. You look stressed out." Danny put down his takeout box and sighed.

"We've found plans in those emails. That warehouse was the first of many buildings that they planned to hit. They were going for the lab, the Chrysler building, Statue of Liberty...they were really going for it, Flack."

"Well...this is good though, I mean we've got so much evidence stacked against them now, right?" Danny nodded.

"Yeah...yeah we have."

"Danny, what is it?"

"Nothing...I think it's just been a really rough few days, y'know?" He looked emotional as he met Flack's eyes and he nodded understandingly, moving to squeeze his shoulder. Danny shook his head and forced a smile, standing up suddenly.

"I'm not doing a great job of cheering you up, am I?"

"I'm just happy to see you. You know how I hate being stuck in here." Danny nodded and gestured to the kitchen.

"Want coffee?"

"Sure....thanks." He frowned as he watched the tense line in his friends shoulders from across the apartment. The atmosphere was thick and he knew something else was wrong.

"Danny?"

"I'm sorry, Flack I shouldn't have come over when I'm so stressed out. I should've stayed awa-" Don cut him off with a hug that the shorter man seemed to resist for several minutes until he gave in and relaxed.

"You should never stay away. We're like the closest friends out of the whole team. If we can't lean on each other, what can we do?" Danny nodded gratefully.

"You're so damn tense." Flack spun him round and rubbed his shoulders. Danny became tense again under his fingers but soon relaxed as Don worked the knots out of his muscles with his large hands, kneading his neck and shoulders until he was comparable to jelly.

"Argh....you always were too good at that..." Danny made them coffee whilst Don returned to the food. When he sat back down, he fell asleep before he could take his first sip. Flack chuckled to himself and switched off the hockey, cleared up the food methodically and draped a blanket around his friend before going to bed himself.

 

When Flack woke up the next morning, Danny had already gone and had left him a note saying 'thank you.' He didn't bother to put his suit on, but got dressed and decided to go to the lab.

 

Mac was decoding emails with everyone else when Lindsay gasped and rushed out of the room. He was momentarily panicked, but couldn't help but smile when she practically launched herself onto Don, hugging him tightly but then quickly backing off with her hands covering her mouth and obviously apologising. Mac knew that even if she had hurt him, Flack would never admit it, or even care. Hawkes joined them, quickly followed by Adam. He and Danny were the last to join as the people - those from the team and cops - who hadn't seen Don since the shooting surrounded him and congratulated and thanked him. He met Mac's eyes from across the small crowd that had formed and silently asked for help.

"Don. Can I talk to you for a minute? My office?" People began quickly backing off after his request and Don nodded, shaking a few hands as he followed him.

"Thank you for that." Mac leant on the desk and gestured for him to sit down.

"Flack, I know you've heard it all before, but I need to thank you. You not only saved the lives of everyone in our team - who are like our family - but cops and hostages too. And as for me....if you hadn't pulled me back the way you did, I know I would've died-"

"Mac."

"No. It's the truth. There are very few people who could've come back from that the way you have. And I'm not one of them. I owe you my life, Don." Flack, ever modest, lowered his eyes and nodded once before looking up again. His cheeks were slightly pink and Mac couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"I think we're even now. Mine was far less impressive than the shoelace." Mac laughed with him, the action relieving some of the weight that had been on his shoulders since the shooting.

"I hadn't realised how far your sense of humour goes in this place. It hasn't been the same." Don just smiled, again, modest.

"I hate not working. I'm already going crazy." Mac smiled understandingly. A cloud suddenly passed over Flack's face.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"I slept last night."

"I mean for longer than like an hour, Mac." He evaded his colleague's steady gaze and the other man sighed.

"Go home, Mac."

"I can't. And even if I did I wouldn't sleep."

"Take pills."

"Don't work. Look, don't worry about me. Worry about you."

"You invest so much in looking after everyone else..someone has to tell you when you chill out too." He spoke gently and Mac was silently touched.

"What time do you finish today?"

"Officially? 6pm. Realistically? 11:30pm."

"Ok. Mind if I swing by your place then?" Mac raised a questioning eyebrow at the dark-haired man.

"I think I know what can help you sleep. I helped Danny yesterday." He shrugged innocently, Mac was tense thinking about that. How Flack helped Danny sleep. He snapped out of it quickly when he realised he hadn't answered Flack.

"Oh, sure. I mean, if it stops you working it's worth it." Flack smiled before he left, the zip on his leather jacket clicking against the glass door.


	4. Chapter 4

Don was a nervous wreck by the time Mac texted him to let him know he was at home and free. He purposely skipped dinner for fear of seeing it in reverse.

When Mac opened the door to his apartment, the rings under his eyes looked almost black, and he looked utterly deflated. He wore a plain t-shirt and pyjama pants. He looked older than he usually did, plainer. And Don had never seen anything that made his heart skip a beat so quickly.

"Hey."

"Hi, come in. Can I get you a drink?"

"No, no. I'm just here to help you sleep. If it doesn't work, fair enough, if it does then great. But you have to trust me."

"Ok...." Don chuckled at his apprehensive tone and gestured to the hall.

"Bedroom?" Mac lead the way and Don had to use every ounce of his self control to stop him grinning like a maniac as he walked through his bosses apartment and into the bedroom he'd dreamt of being in so many times. The walls were a delicate grey, tasteful and minimalistic decorations, and a big window leading to a balcony outside.

"I bet you spend more time out there at night than you do in here." He commented quietly, it was half intended as a joke, but Mac just nodded sadly and all of a sudden, it wasn't so funny. 

"Ok. Sit or lie down, whichever is more comfortable for you." Mac lied down and Don gestured for him to flip over. He did as he was told without question. He was tense. But Mac was always tense. And Flack couldn't wait to see if he could change that. He sat down on the edge of the bed and leant over Mac, placing his hands on the base of his neck gently. That was the most difficult part, actually touching him in the first place. Summoning the nerve was almost too difficult for him. But he did it. He slowly began rubbing tiny and large circles, his hands began to ache slightly with the effort of exercising his talent to the max, but he was so elated to feel Mac relaxing under his hands that he didn't even notice. He found a particularly large knot and tried to work it out but it didn't want to happen.

"Can you take your shirt off?" He asked quietly, his voice coming out even deeper than unusual and he cringed to himself, hoping Mac hadn't noticed. But he didn't seem to as he quickly wriggled out of his top without sitting up. Don pulled the mini bottle of quick-sink oil from his pocket and worked some into his hands before touching the other man's bare skin. That was even more difficult. He suppressed his own feelings that threatened to bubble up with the feel of each muscle and bone and the noise of Mac's breathing. Instead he concentrated purely on him, on how he reacted to certain spots, what relaxed him most, and locating those final knots of tension. He didn't realise he'd been massaging Mac for over an hour until he noticed the other man's breathing had evened out and he'd fallen fast asleep. Don slowed his movements to a stop and stood silently, covering Mac with the duvet before leaving quickly. 

Mac woke at 3am after the best night's sleep he'd had in years.  
"I owe Flack a bottle of something." He muttered to himself as he stretched out, feeling amazingly loose after being so tightly wound for so long.

"This is my last resort!!!" Flack bit back a laugh as Adam shouted along to the stereo, jumping into an impressive air guitar routine. He was head-banging and spinning round when he saw Don and straightened up in embarrassment, shutting off the music quickly.

"I..uh.." Don raised his eyebrows teasingly, asking for an explanation.

"Well you know...sometimes you just have to."

"I'm not one to dis Papa Roach but...wow." Adam's face lit up when Don acknowledged the title of the band and he skipped over the lighthearted insult.

"Well, who knew you had such good taste? Point is, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Stella, have you seen her anywhere?"

"Gee thanks. But yeah I think she's gone to see Mac." Flack gave him the thumbs up and left.

"You look much better." Stella commented, Mac nodded and smiled gently.

"I feel it." Don came to a stop when he heard Mac's reply.

"You've started sleeping again?"

"Well, I did last night."

"So...did you do anything fun last night to which caused this sudden good nights sleep??"

"Do I ever? Anyway, did you come to dig out the gossip?"

"No, actually I came to tell you the gossip." Don's smile suddenly disappeared and his stomach lurched in terror. She was going to tell him.

"Oh?"

"Yeah-"

"Hey- Oh, sorry am I interrupting?" Don burst in loudly. Stella smiled and shook her head.

"Hey. No, actually you should hear this too, I found evidence about our elusive barbie killer." Don practically sagged with relief.

"That's the guy who kidnaps women, gives them surgery to look like barbies, rapes and then kills them?"

"One and the same. Sid found sperm in one of the victim's vaginal cavities. Judging by the amount, we think it was a split condom because none of the other victims had any trace on them. But I found something really interesting. Unusually high levels of oestrogen."

"Oestrogen? So...what our killer is a tranny?"

"Possibly. Sid said that the suspect could be suffering with Klinefelter's Syndrome which is an imbalance of oestrogen to testosterone in males. This would mean he has gynaecomastia, aka man boobs, and small testicles....but that's probably harder to identify someone by." Don and Stella laughed and Mac frowned in thought.

"Well gynaecomastia is a relatively common problem in men, mostly in men who are in puberty or are middle-aged."

"Exactly. He also said we could be looking for an intersex person-"

"Wait. Intersex? What does that mean?" Don interjected.

"Exactly what you think it means. Intersex people can have both male and female genitalia." Don gaped at her and pulled a face at the thought. Mac shook his head.

"That's very statistically unlikely."

"What I thought. But I'm thinking that our killer might be trying to exact his or her own revenge on people possibly for a surgery gone wrong..? Because I also found traces of antiadrogens and progestogens."

"The three types of hormones used in hormone replacement therapy for MTFs."

"MTFs?" Don sighed at his lack of understanding.

"Males to females." Don nodded.

"So we're looking for a tranny."

"Basically."

"What I said in the first place..."

"We always need the science, Flack." Mac replied.

"I'm waiting on a DNA hit from CODIS." Stella explained before leaving the office to answer a call. Mac walked round his desk.

"Thank you for...yesterday. I haven't felt so relaxed in years."

"You're welcome." Don shrugged modestly.

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

"I wish I had a good story for that. When I was in high school a friend told me his older brother was a masseur and always ended up hooking up with the women who went to him. I took some courses." He admitted in embarrassment, it was worth it when Mac laughed quietly.

"And you ended up with me and Danny, sorry about that." Flack laughed, thinking to himself that he definitely did not have a problem with that.

"Well, thank you anyway."

"Glad I could help." He left with a grin on his face. 

Danny was looking at something through a microscope as he arrived.  
"Yo." Danny flinched, slamming his head into the microscope and pushing his glasses into his eyes. He cursed and sat back, rubbing his eyes and checking his glasses for damage.

"Hey..."

"Klutz. So, you left without giving me a good morning kiss or cooking me breakfast. I'm hurt." Danny forced a tense laugh and Don signed.

"What's up with you?"

"I just smacked my head into a microscope.."

"Danny. Come on."

"I'm fine! Thanks for not waking me up last night. I'm good though, look I've got a bunch of evidence to analyse, can we-"

"Talk later. Sure." Danny sighed guiltily as Flack answered shortly and walked out.

Flack stretched his neck, wishing he could give himself a massage as he left the scene of a robbery. The elderly woman who's purse had been taken was very sweet, but Flack had had to stand and listen to her ramble on for over an hour. When it was a call out he shouldn't have had to answer in the first place, it wasn't easy to keep his patience.

He stopped for coffee on the way back to the lab when he got a call from Mac.  
"Flack."

"Flack, meet me and Stella at the derelict sewing factory warehouse on tenth." 

"I'm five minutes away." He rushed for the car and drove straight to the scene calling for backup.

"Ok, what's happening?"

"Stella got a hit on CODIS - the suspect's name is Daniel Christensen. He works at the Forbidden Fruit strip club."

"Oh what the, uh, gay strip club?"

"Yeah. How do you know about it, Flack?" He just winked and pulled on the bullet-proof vest that was handed to him.

"Flack. Listen, if he runs, me and Stella are the first ones to chase. We can't afford you taking any more bullets." He rolled his eyes but nodded.

"I mean it." Mac's ferocity shocked Don and he nodded more seriously.

"Let's go." They entered the warehouse, the sound of dripping water and the smell of decomposing flesh immediately hit Don. He felt useless being behind his two colleagues, but he stayed in line. Mac pushed open the only door in the warehouse - the door to what would have been the manager's office - and decomp hit them like a fist. They all recoiled slightly at the foul smell and then at the sight. Flack felt angry as he looked at the same situation as all the rest: young woman, dirty mattress, cuffed to a pipe, blood everywhere, looking like a giant barbie doll.

"I hate this son of a bitch." He had to leave, walking outside the office to try and regain his temper. Movement caught his eye and he yelled out for help when he saw the straight metal ladder leading up to the roof in the corner. He ignored Mac's orders and ran after the suspect, ignoring the pain in his side.

"Flack! Stop!" He climbed the ladder quickly and out onto the flat roofs of the adjoining buildings. He scanned quickly and saw the person running away. Not on his watch. Flack tore after him at full speed, cringing internally and only feeling more angry when he felt his stitches pulling to breaking point. He could see himself catching up to the suspect, but he could feel his wounds taking their toll on his fitness levels. He could hear Mac running behind him but didn't care and instead pushed himself even farther. He jumped over a gap between buildings and felt something split.

Flack didn't even realise he'd caught up to the suspect until he was jumping and flattening him to the floor, kneeling on his back and pulling his head up by his hair once his hands were cuffed.

"Listen, I have ripped stitches thanks to you, and I am already having a bad day so I suggest you start playing nice you son of a bitch." Mac and a police officer caught up a minute later and the officer hauled him off the rooftop. Mac was fuming.

"Show me your stitches."

"Trying to get me naked, Mac?" Nothing gave him confidence quite like catching a suspect.

"Show me the damn stitches, Flack!" Mac shouting sank in and made Don realise how angry he was. And he quickly pulled off his coat and undid his shirt so they could assess the damage.

"You're lucky. Only the very first stitch on this wound has broken. But you still need to go back to hospital."

"I'll be fine-"

"You will not be fine."

"Mac-"

"You either go to hospital, or I'm going to march you home, bandage you up myself and force you to stay sitting down for at least ten days, even if that means holding a gun to your reckless head." He said angrily in one breath, glaring at Flack afterwards. He bit his lip, fighting back guilty pleasure at having Mac all to himself for hours on end.

"I'll go home and do that myself."

"I'll drive you- don't argue with me." Mac practically pushed him into the car and headed to his apartment.

Flack felt tense the entire way there. Mac was obviously still livid and he didn't know what to say to make it right.  
"Look, Mac, I did what I had to do." From the corner of Don's eye, he could see how Mac's jaw flexed in irritation. When they pulled to a stop Mac shut off the engine and sighed heavily. 

"I'm not disputing that."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that you're reckless, Flack! God dammit, isn't it enough you risked your life once already this week?? You're not invincible!"

"If I hadn't chased the suspect, he would have gotten away! You and Stella were in a different area of the building!" Mac rubbed his eyes wearily.

"I know. Professionally, you did as you always do: you go above and beyond the line of duty. Personally...you make me concerned."

"I don't think there's a difference here."

"That's what worries me. You need to think about yourself, too."

"You can't tell me to look out for myself. Not when you constantly pull triple shifts and don't sleep even when you don't-"

"I don't constantly risk my life."

"Not directly."

"Look, don't try to turn this round on me to take the heat off you."

"Well...what do you want me to say?!"

"I want you to tell me that I'm not going to have to lose another person I care greatly for." Don met his eyes and felt that sad emptiness crash around him. I The words were sort of there, but the meaning wasn't. They didn't mean what he wanted them to.

 

Mac watched the dullness settle in Don's usually bright eyes.  
"Yeah. Ok. Look, I'll take it easy from now on. Thanks for the ride." His voice was almost robotic it was so monotone.

"Flack!" Mac called after the other man, but he was already up the stairs to the building, out of earshot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks you to all of you who are reading this story, it makes me so happy to see the numbers piling up!  
> I'd love to hear what you think though - what do you think will happen?  
> What do you want to happen?
> 
> Comment and let me know! :D


	5. Chapter 5

Flack did as he was told for once. He didn't return to work for ten days, and Mac was impressed. Don was miserable, even when he finally did return. Everyone noticed his lack of gusto, even Mac. Scratch that. Especially Mac, but mainly because Danny had been so downbeat in the absence of the man the blonde had feelings for.

When he did finally return, Danny was high as a kite one minute, and then crashed when he realised that Don wasn't the same as he had been before the shooting.

"What's with him, Danny?" Hawkes asked him when they witnessed Don leaving angrily after a heated discussion with an officer.

"Don't even ask." He stormed off too and Hawkes looked around helplessly, Stella passed and patted his shoulder.

"Is it my breath?" She just laughed and kept walking.

"Mac! I got the DNA results-" Stella trailed off when she saw Danny sitting in Mac's office with his head in his hands. Mac looked sad and that troubled her, Danny suddenly stood up and left, mumbling his excuses.

"I'm so sorry I didn't realise-"

"Don't worry about it. Tensions are just a little high at the moment."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Poor Hawkes just got explosions from Danny and Flack- and Flack went off at a uniform." Mac frowned.

"I'll talk to him and see what's going on. Now, what DNA results?"

"From the mattress and handcuffs we found at the warehouse before Flack apprehended the suspect."

"And?"

"Epithelials were a match to our suspect. Blood was a match to a Penelope Kleimer - she's a model. Fits the profile."

"How come her prints were in AFIS?"

"She was arrested for a drug possession back in '02 before her career hit big. Her sister reported her missing nine days ago."

"We need to find that model."

 

Flack felt guilty as he used his lunch break to pace around the city, trying to work the tension out of his system. He'd flown off the handle at the new, young cop for practically no reason. He'd stormed away from Hawkes. He'd acted harshly towards Danny. He felt guilty for it all.  
His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.  
"Flack."

"It's Mac. I need you to come here and get addresses for interviews on our missing vic."

"Be there in ten."

Mac thrust the papers into his hands when he arrived.  
"Take Danny with you."

"What? I thought I was working the chef case with Hawkes?" Danny exclaimed.

"Hawkes has got Lindsay - go." Both men sighed inwardly and left together. Stella glanced at her boss sideways.

"Do you always have a plan for everyone?"

"They've got to resolve their issues somehow. It can't go on like it is."

"Is it their issue? Or Don's issue?" Mac sighed.

"I don't know anymore."

The drive was silent almost all the way to their first address until Flack sighed in defeat.  
"Danny I'm sorry I went off at you earlier."

"Nah, it's ok."

"It's not though, is it?"

"Flack, we're cool. I just worry about you is all." Flack nodded.

"I'm sorry. I've just been frustrated with this whole shooting thing. My fitness levels have gone right down again cause I haven't been able to exercise properly, I didn't get to interrogate that son of a bitch after I caught him...I just feel useless."

"If you hadn't caught the guy there'd be no one to interrogate, Flack." He nodded, the knowledge not helping his feelings.

"Thanks." They were silent for a long time.  
"It's not like it made any difference...he wasn't even our killer he was just-"

"He was just the only other person involved in this case, Flack. He's helping our killer. He set up each crime scene the way our killer wanted it. He's a major player in the game, and without him, the killer might have to surrender. Do not think it was a waste of time." Flack nodded.

"Thank you....anyway, who are we going to interview?" Danny shuffled through the papers in his lap.

"Uhh....Penelope Kleimer's sister, parents, boss...colleagues...and ex-boyfriend." Flack just nodded, the absence of what would have usually been a sarcastic comment or joke made Danny feel empty inside.

"How have you been? On your recovery leave?"

"Bored to death." Don's voice was flat and Danny squirmed slightly in his seat.

"Say what you gotta say, Messer."

"What? I'm not saying anything."

"Exactly, which is why you're wriggling around like you gotta pee. Get it out."

"It's nothing man, I just worry about you."

"Well don't."

"I wish I didn't care, Don it'd make my life a hell of a lot easier. But you're not the same."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not living up to everyone's expectations right now, Danny, but I've got some stuff I'm trying to deal with and it's not easy."

"No ones asking you to pretend to be happy, Flack, we just care-"

"Well I wish everyone would just leave me the hell alone and let me deal with my own problems!" Flack slammed on the brakes and cursed out the window as a car pulled out without warning in front of them. They didn't speak again until after they'd left Penelope Kleimer's parents house. Even then, it was all about the case and nothing personal.

 

Danny arrived home that night and went through the motions; showered, ordered takeout, ate with a beer whilst watching a basketball game, went to bed, couldn't sleep, sat in the kitchen in the dark.

Mac wished he had Don there to help him relax as he lay awake, his overactive mind subconsciously turning over the day's events, cases, and his colleagues.

Flack stumbled into a seedy underground club at 3am, exhausted, and ignored the bartender asking if he wanted a drink as he scanned the room for a prospective partner. He needed to fuck his frustrations out his system, well, he needed to have them fucked out of his system by a hot guy who was taller than him, bigger than him and stronger than him.

"Lookin' for me, sugar?" A pair of lips ghosted over the spot behind his ear, and the voice sent shivers down his spine. He turned around and the brown hair, stubble, green eyes and muscle all ticked the boxes three times over.

"Yeah, yeah I think I could have been."

"Let's go."

Mac moved out onto the balcony, deciding that at 4am he wasn't going to get to sleep tonight. As he leant on the cold, metal railing he sighed heavily, debating - for what felt like the millionth time - whether or not to call Don. He needed to know what was upsetting him so much, and when he could next come over and help him sleep.

His cell phone suddenly beeped and he was snapped back into reality. A 419 on an airport runway. Fantastic.

Don didn't even hear his cell beep as he clawed at Xavier's back, not caring if he made noise as he was fucked into submission. Xavier turned him over and grabbed his hips as he fucked him even harder. Through the thick fog of pleasure Don knew that he'd be bruised for the next few days. He lifted Don's torso, hands on his chest as he pulled his back flush against his own body as he continued to slam into him unforgivingly. Don moved his hand to touch himself and immediately came hard, lungs unable to inhale enough air. He panted heavily and let his head fallback as Xavier continued his assault on his senses. Don didn't think about the way he was biting his neck until after they'd recovered and showered which was a good two orgasms later.

He was towelled himself dry and noticed a dull stab of pain. He walked into the bedroom to get dressed, and caught his reflection in the mirror. He looked exhausted, but his skin had regained some of its colour, especially the dark red bite marks blooming over his body.

"Ooh..sorry about those. I didn't think..."

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't saying no." Xavier kissed his shoulder as he walked past.

"If you ever wanna hookup again, call me."

"Thought you didn't do more than one night stands." Don replied absent-mindedly as he mentally cursed the mark on his neck that was sure to show above his collar.

"I don't. Usually." Don chuckled and pulled yesterdays clothes back on, opting to leave his vest off after doing the sniff test on it.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and froze when he saw 13 messages and 14 missed calls.

"Shit!"

Mac gritted his teeth in anger.  
"Where the hell is Flack?!"

"I don't know." Danny answered quietly, knowing that if Don was this late, it was because he was hurt or because he was with someone. And for Don to ignore a 419...they had to be someone really special.

Don appeared, panting heavily having obviously run over to them.  
"What the hell took you so long?!"

"Mac I'm sorry I slept in I didn't hear my phone, I don't know how I missed it, it was an honest mistake."

"Don't give me that, it's pretty clear you haven't slept in days. I'd tell you to prioritise in future but it looks like you already did that." Danny looked up in confusion to see Don looking embarrassed. It was only when he promised Mac it wouldn't happen again and turned to Danny to ask about the victim that he saw the large red bite marks on his skin. That wasn't a woman's doing. Danny hated the jealous pang his stomach sent shooting through him as it clenched angrily. It hurt even more when he'd been with a man. Danny didn't know if the others knew that Don was bi, that he'd often hook up with men, but he did. And knowing Don wasn't straight and he still didn't want him....well it really, really hurt.


	6. Chapter 6

Mac pulled Don aside.  
"Listen, Flack. It's not my place to get involved, nor do I want to get involved in your personal life. But if it's going to interfere with your job, you make it my business-"

"Look, Mac, I'm sorry ok? I made a mistake-"

"And you're gonna have to answer for that!! This is a murder on a runway!! You know we're against the clock here, the Sheriff is gonna be on my back the entire time to get this done ASAP."

"I know. I'm sorry." Mac stormed off and Don cursed himself silently. Stella walked round him and handed him a coffee.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, so, I take it you had fun last night." Don rolled his eyes and she frowned.

"Still not happy? Even after that?!" She gestured to the bite marks.

"It got it out of my system that's all I'm gonna say."

"Well you don't seem any less tense than yesterday. Maybe it didn't."

"Well then maybe I'll just have to keep seeing him then, won't I?"

"Mac will be so happy." Stella joked sarcastically.

"I don't care anymore." She was saddened by the flatness of his voice.

"Flack-"

"Sorry...don't worry about me, Stel." With that he left to talk to the airport manager.

 

"Mac!!" Mac groaned internally as he heard Sinclair's voice boom through the hallway behind him.

"Ah, Chief Sinclair, to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" The chief skipped past the thinly veiled insult.

"I've been trying to call you for two hours straight."

"Bad reception on a runway." His jaw clenched irritably.

"Don't play with me, Mac. This case needs to be put to bed ASAP."

"Hence why we're all so busy working on it." He waved the case file in his hands.

"What do you have so far?"

"Vic is in autopsy right now. Sid should be finishing up soon, I'm on my way down there now."

"This needs to be moving faster - I've got everyone as far up as they go on my back about this!!!" Anger tore through Mac and he grappled with his temper.

"And when I have something, I'll let you know. I'm not going to rush this because we cannot afford to lose the time fixing the mistakes that will be made if I do. I'm prioritising this case, chief, but I will not screw it up because you're getting pressure from people high up."

"Don't complicate things, Mac."

"I hope by that you don't mean I shouldn't invest my time in making sure I know exactly how, why and by whom our victim was killed. Because that is exactly what I intend to do." A lab tech scuttled past them and Mac realised they'd been raising their voices.

"I'm just telling you to finish it. Quickly."

"Do you even know who the victim is?" Sinclair looked sheepish.

"The victim was an eighteen year-old boy. John Doe. His body was mutilated. He was probably tortured. Now, I'm going to leave and go see Sid...before I lose my temper."

"Don't forget who you're talking to, Mac!!!"

"Some things are more important than kissing ass, chief!" Mac shouted back, noticing with smug amusement how so many lab techs and officers pretended not to hear but were secretly laughing to themselves

 

Mac pursed his lips subconsciously when Sid pulled the sheet back that covered the victim.  
"Is he still a John Doe?"

"Waiting on DNA results and dental records. So yes."

"Kids are always the worst."

"Especially when their body's in this kind of state." Mac looked at the Dr.

"What were the extent of his injuries?"

"A very long list of injuries, most pre-mortem. There are shallow incisions along his limbs..." Sid showed Mac the kid's arms and legs.

"...and cigarette burns on his hands and feet. He was also raped, I'll come back to that, and I think he may have been gagged...judging by the contusions in the corners of his mouth." Mac looked closer and agreed, feeling sadder and more angry by the second.

"You said he was raped?"

"Yes, no semen, but there was trauma in the rectum that is consistent with rape. Be that with an object or otherwise - unfortunately I couldn't tell you. Also, to do with the gag - I found unusual bruising on the insides of his mouth..." Sid opened the victim's mouth and shone a torch in so Mac could assess the damage.

"These four teeth here..." He gestured, "...are chipped. Consistent with...either a miraculous coincidence or trying to bite down on something forced into his mouth? I thought it might be to do with the gag, it's hard to say." Mac nodded.

"Anything else?"

"Yes. I think you should see this." Sid pulled the sheet down, revealing a hideous, violent mirage of brushing across what would have once been a healthy young man's torso. Mac hadn't seen anything like it in years.

"I don't think I've seen bruising this bad."

"Me either...he was beaten severely - all prior to death. He had all but one of his ribs cracked." Mac rubbed a hand over his face wearily.

"Cause of death?"

"Trauma. He was in so much pain, and I'm guessing so frightened...that his heart just gave up. They beat him into a heart attack. A healthy adolescent male." Mac sighed.

"Is that it?"

"One last thing." He pulled the sheet down lower and carved underneath the man's belly button was the word "slut."

"Any ideas what this was carved with?" Mac asked quickly, trying not to let his anger overwhelm him completely.

"Not sure....something relatively blunt though, would've caused more pain. Maybe a blunt knife?" Mac nodded and thanked Sid before leaving quickly, dialling Sinclair's number. When he arrived in his office, the chief was waiting for him.

"Don't talk to me, Sinclair. Go down to the autopsy room and ask Sid to tell you about the victim." Sinclair could tell by the shake in Mac's composure and the anger radiating from him that it wasn't the time to give him a warning about his behaviour. Instead, he ducked out of the office silently. 

When Danny knocked on the door quietly half an hour later, Mac was still sat at his desk with his head in his hands.  
"Mac? You ok?"

"No...I am not ok, Danny."

"Wanna talk about it?" He looked at the smaller man's bright, kind eyes and sighed.

"The boy....Don...the serial...it's..." Danny nodded.

"I get it." Mac nodded wearily.

"Don't worry about Don though...he's...he'll pull through."

"I don't think he will this time, Danny. He's feeling something, and he won't talk to anyone about it. He just won't. He'll do something stupid - like last night." Danny's entire body tensed and Mac noticed the irritation. Realised how it hurt him to know what Don had been doing. He instantly wished he could somehow gather the words and shove them back inside his mouth.

"Well, if he does...I guess that's his choice. As his friends...all we can do is make sure he knows he can talk to us. And try to stop him putting himself in those situations. We can't do any more than that." Mac nodded.

"Wise words. So, was there something you came to me about?"

"No, just on my break so I thought I'd pop in... I'm gonna get coffee, you want anything?"

"Uh...no, no thanks." Danny nodded and left.

Danny's insides were still churning when he walked ten blocks. He could've bought coffee directly outside the building, but he needed to pace out the feelings that refused to leave. The pain, jealousy and anger were eating away at his insides. The thought of Don with someone else was too much for him to bear.

He was going to interrogate Don later. If he could face it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos you guys, it's really motivating!!!
> 
> I'll try to update quicker from now on, let me know what you think!
> 
> (There's stormy seas ahead for Don, just to let you know!)


	7. Chapter 7

Don wasn't going to answer his phone, but when he saw the number he pressed the green button immediately.  
"Hey."

"Hey Donny. You busy?" Xavier asked casually.

"Normally I'd skip off for you...but I think if I leave on this case I'll be fired." 

"Oh ok."

"You ready for more already?" Don asked in a cocky tone, trying not to speak too loud in case any of the other manner of people working around him heard.

"When can I meet you?" Xavier skipped over the comment. Don smirked at the reply and looked at the clock.

"I'll come to your place. Might not be finished until tomorrow though. I'll call you?"

"Sounds good baby. See you tomorrow." Don hung up and then the phone at his desk was ringing again.

Don returned to the crime scene and immediately had the airport manager in his face again.  
"Don't bother. This is a crime scene."

"I am losing SO MUCH business because of you people...I can't take this anymore! We've already had to cancel 14 flights!!!!"

"The boy murdered here was just eighteen years old...or...do you just, y'know, not care?" The man looked guilty and Don left him behind the tape. He approached Mac who was staring at the ground where the boy had been found.

"Mac - you ok?"

"Something doesn't feel right. Lindsay is analysing the marks on the kid's mouth and his injuries. We've got skid marks over there - Stella is back at the lab analysing them now. I found blood and tissue from back here...." Don followed Mac a few feet back to the tyre marks.

"But the blood drops aren't gravitational, and the tissue wouldn't have just fallen off....I think he was thrown from the moving vehicle." Don shook his head sadly.

"What else?"

"I just feel like we've missed something. Hawkes and Danny are looking round the perimeter - can you do the same please?" Don nodded and left.

 

Mac felt uneasy. Really uneasy. When e got the call from Lindsay he felt nauseous.  
"Taylor."

"Mac, I found out what caused the bruises inside the mouth of our runway vic." 

"What was it, Lindsay?"

"Sid was right it's they're from a type of gag. There were also scrapes on the victims face and when I did a kind of dot-to-dot with all the marks I realised. They're from a spider gag. It's basically a gag with a ring inside the mouth. The spikes that come out are designed to stop the wearer from flipping the ring horizontally in their mouth. Judging by the size of the bruises it was the largest size one you can buy. Which means the assailant(s) had unlimited access to the kids mouth. They could do whatever they wanted. I'm guessing he bit down on it and it chipped his teeth. Spider gags are used in humiliation play. Our killer is a sadistic bastard, Mac."

"I know. Good work Lindsay, how are you getting on with the weapon indentations?"

"Working on it." Mac bade her goodbye and hung up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was grateful when Stella arrived with coffee.

"Figured out the tyre treads?"

"They're from a Cadillac Escalade ESV. They're one of the only SUVs to have 22' inch tyres."

"Isn't that one of the most expensive SUVs in the world?"

"Yes. And I ran records to see how many have been purchased since they became available earlier this year - only twelve in the state of New York." Mac nodded and took the list, which of course included some very important names.

"Oh god..." Stella cringed too.

"I know."

"Okay...in this case we need to see what other evidence we can find. If not...then we just start from the least important and work our way up." 

"You're getting good at this politics thing." She winked before leaving to help the others search.

"Taylor." Mac answered his phone when it began to ring.

"Hi Boss, I've been looking through the CCTV footage. There was at least one camera shot of that area at all times. Except for 12:54pm to 1:00am."

"We need to get the head of security in. Good work, Adam." Mac left, calling Don with him - feeling a slight hint of confidence at last.

"Callaghan! For the love of God. You're the only person with the authority to move those cameras who was on duty at the time of the body dump." The middle-aged man was beginning to sweat under pressure.

"After 9/11....having trustworthy security at airports and air control is one of the most important things to this country...you should know that-"

"Ok!!! Look...my daughter is disabled. Me and my wife have spent the last five years campaigning to get financial support for her care. But no ones listening. So...when a guy came by my house offering me ten grand to do this job, and was a little too familiar around my family...I did what he asked." Don sighed.

"Do you know who he is?" He shook his head.

"No. And I didn't know what he was gonna do. I swear I didn't know he'd hurt that kid..." The man fought back tears and Don waited for him to compose himself.

"I think he's someone's body guard. He looked like security anyhow." Don nodded.

"That's good. Can you talk to a sketch artist for us?" He nodded quickly and Don stood to leave, as he did the man grabbed his sleeve.

"I didn't hire a hit on that kid, did I?" The fear and devastation Don saw there was genuine and he shook his head.

"Judging by time of death, the kid was dead over an hour before they dropped him there." The man nodded and let Don go sadly.

"I hate people who find out people's weaknesses and use it against them. That man's gonna lose his job and over half the financial support for his daughter now." Mac nodded and gripped Don's shoulder.

"You can't bear everyone's burden, Don. Stop it before this gets to you." Don just left to call the sketch artist, and Mac watched the father break down in the interrogation room.

Lindsay recoiled in horror when she realised what the boy's injuries had been inflicted with.  
"Taylor." Mac answered when she called him.

"Mac...are you in the building?"

"Yeah."

"I think you need to see this." Mac arrived a few minutes later and looked at the computer screen.

"The murderer used metal claws?"

"Yeah. They fit onto the end of your fingers. People use them to scratch and tease their partner....but these must be a custom job. They were sharp enough to cause this kind of damage." She said bleakly, gesturing to the crime scene photos. Mac patted her shoulder gently and left again.

Don was exhausted when he arrived home at 2pm the next day. He caught up on some much-needed sleep and awoke at ten pm to a call from Xavier.  
"Hey..." He mumbled groggily.

"Hi. Was wondering if you were coming over?"

"Yeah I'm just on my way now."

"Can't wait. The door's open, you know where the bedroom is." The thought of Xavier waiting for him made Flack's stomach clench with arousal and he was suddenly wide awake.


	8. Chapter 8

Danny woke up for the fourteenth time and decided against trying to go back to sleep. When he arrived back at the lab, Mac looked concerned.

"What's up?"

"Oh, hi Danny. Nothing. Stella and Hawkes have gone to Angelo Morevas' house with a warrant." Danny's eyebrows popped up.

"What?"

"Hawkes found a bloody thumb print on the tape that was wrapped around the vic's ankles. Sid found a large bite mark in the vic's shoulder." Danny's head immediately flashed to Don and he pushed his feelings aside.

"Angelo Morevas though?! Are we sure?"

"It was his thumb print." Mac shrugged.

 

"We've got a warrant to search your person, the premises, your car, and for a mould of your teeth, Mr Morevas." Morevas handed his lawyer, who was already there, the warrant.

"Stella Bonasera...I wondered when I'd see you again." Her skin crawled as the Italian man looked her up and down.

"May we come in?" He stepped aside. Hawkes also hated the cocky smile and tone of voice. He was too relaxed, and too happy to help. He did it.

They found nothing in the house. Anywhere. Stella was determined not to show her frustration to the man who was becoming cockier by the second.

When they reached his car, it looked as though it would be the same situation.  
"Had your car valeted recently, Mr Morevas?" Stella asked with fake sweetness. He smiled.

"A car this expensive...one has a moral obligation to keep it clean."

"Well. You're not living up to your moral obligation very well then." Hawkes said, standing up after he'd used the super strength vacuum cleaner on the backseat. Morevas' face fell for a split second.

"Stella. We've got hairs, and fibres from...something." He explained quietly and they left quickly after giving the police officers with them instructions to bring him in for questioning, and to get his car towed back to the lab. Morevas and his lawyer both had sour expressions as they left.

"Good work, you two." Mac said as he stepped into the elevator and they stepped out.

"Mr Morevas, can you explain your thumb print on the duct tape that was used to bind the victims ankles?" Mac placed the photograph down. Morevas his his surprise well and looked at his lawyer who told him to answer.

"I don't know how that got there."

"Oh cmon, you can do better than that."

"It's possible that one of my employees stole the duct tape from my house which I've probably touched at some point, and did this...horrific thing to this poor, young boy." Mac gritted his teeth at Morevas' synthetic sympathy.

"Any other theories?"

"Thats your job."

"Detective, do you have any other evidence on my client besides that which has been explained?"

"At this stage we are still-"

"Mac." Stella walked in and interrupted him. Morevas and his lawyer looked at each other as she spoke to him.

"That was quick, Bonasera."

"I made your case a priority, Mr Morevas." She smiled with a slightly evil sweetness and Mac let her take over.

"These hairs me and Detective Hawkes collected from your vehicle match the victim. My colleagues are processing the fibres as we speak." Morevas' lawyer whispered to him and he nodded.

"Same theory as before, detectives. One of my client's employees must have stolen his car and duct tape to commit this tragedy."

"Well...unfortunately for your client, there is no evidence of anyone else in that car, or on the victim."

"You know you'd never get a murder charge off of this, Taylor." The lawyer hissed.

"Well then...if your client has any information on who may have cruelly framed him for this crime...a deal might be able to be made. If it is true." His lawyer told him to tell them. Morevas shook his head.

"Mr Morevas...are you really willing to go to jail for this person? To tarnish your reputation?" His composure was beginning to shake.

"Fine. But I want anonymity. He can never find out that it was me who told you."

 

Don's orgasm lasted a long time. Xavier unclipped him from the handcuffs and kissed him sweetly.  
"You're so beautiful. The face and noises you make....you kill a little part of me every time we have sex." He whispered, voice thick with sex. Don smiled and kissed him again. 

"You need to stop biting me, you know. People at work see."

"Well then they've already seen...so they already know. I'd stop but...I like the reaction I get too much." Don smiled almost shyly and Xavier kissed him. Then his phone rang and ruined everything. He groaned and reached for his phone, putting a hand on Xavier's hip to stop him from moving off of him. He fought back a gasp as the other man began to kiss his neck again.

"Flack."

"Flack, I need you to interview another suspect for me while I return to the crime scene."

"Sure thing, I'll be there ASAP." He hung up and kissed Xavier one last time before standing and getting dressed. The other man lied down and watched him, a light smile in the corners of his mouth.

"He's lucky to have you work for him."

"Don't you just know it. I'll see you....well, when I next see you I guess."

"ASAP." Xavier winked and let him show himself out.

Flack ignored the way Stella's eyes travelled to his clothes that he'd been wearing for several shifts, and walked straight into the interrogation room. The face that met him was familiar, but he didn't know where from.  
"Mr Lopez. I'm detective Flack. You're Mr Morevas' gardener, is that right? Can you explain claims that you stole his car, and duct tape from his home?"

"No! No, no, no I never! I didn't do it! Detective, I swear!" His accent was heavy and Don believed every word.

"Why did he say it was me? Is there...proof?"

"No. But I still want to know what you were doing between nine pm and two am the night before last."

"I was...in bed. At home. You can ask my wife. We had friends over for dinner, they were there until eleven." Don nodded and handed him his notepad.

"If you could write their details down, it would be helpful." He nodded and did as he was asked. When he was free to go he practically ran out in fear, Don joined Mac outside.

"He's telling the truth."

"Morevas and his lawyer are just trying to buy time. Get him back in here."

"Morevas...you are wasting my time, man. I don't like having my time wasted - I've got a hot date tonight." The man was past the point of smirking and glared at Don's sarcasm.

"I'm not talking."

"Why's that? Is it someone important? Is someone blackmailing you? Or did you just do this all yourself and you can't handle the truth? I'm getting sick of your bull, to tell you the truth." He perched on the edge of the table and watched Morevas' jaw flex in anger.

"I would ask that you not imply my client is lying, detective Flack." Don ignored the lawyer.

"Oh I'm sorry - am I making you angry? Did I touch a nerve bringing up what you did to that kid? I didn't know little boys were your style, Morev-" The man practically leapt over the table at that and Don quickly gained control of him and restrained him.

"Attempting to assault a police officer. Nice going, jackass." Don whispered in his ear,  
"I'm arresting your client, Mr Lucas." Don escorted the man outside and into a temporary cell.

"You will talk at some point, Morevas. You'll break before me." The man's frown suddenly turned into a knowing, arrogant, sadistic smirk that sent a shot of unease through Don.

"I don't think so....bello."


	9. Chapter 9

"Mac!" Don rushed into his superior's office, a week later, heart in his mouth.

"We've got another victim - could be Penelope Kleimer. It looks like the tranny serial." Mac ran out of the office with him to the car.

They pulled up outside a derelict church.

"A church? This doesn't fit the profile."

"Serials evolve."

"Or a copycat." They glanced in dread at one another and entered the building. Damp cold, and the smell of iron hit Don who recoiled slightly.

"The first on the scene was officer Walsh. He cleared the building, the vic's in the basement." They walked downstairs slowly and Don felt tears rush to his eyes. Well, they would have if he hadn't seen this scene so many times. As it was, he felt moved to tears, but couldn't produce any. The girl on the dog-eared mattress couldn't have been any older than eighteen. She wasn't cuffed, however. And she had been re-dressed. Flack knelt down next to her and double checked her pulse, out of hope more than anything else. His hand lingered on her small wrist and he hung his head.  
"I'm sorry we didn't get here quick enough Penelope...." He whispered, hoping she'd hear him, wherever she was. Mac knelt opposite him.

"You couldn't have done anything, Flack." His words didn't mean anything. Flack looked at her face. She'd been given surgery, but not to the same extent as the other victims.

"Ligature marks on her wrists and ankles...she was cuffed, but they were removed." Don didn't respond and Mac nudged him.

"Go outside." He shook his head and sat back on his heels. The girls hair had been arranged and her body posed.

"Sid. Please tell me you've got something."

"Well, COD wasn't blood loss like the other victims. She was poisoned. There weren't, however, any signs of injection or forced ingestion - by any means. I pumped her stomach and voila. She drank a substance dissolved in water.

"Any ideas what it was?"

"Nothing concrete but the stomach contents had a very strong ethanol smell. I think someone heated a pure alcohol such as vodka and created their own hydrogen cyanide. I sent the stomach contents and a sample of her blood to tox, and blood to DNA when she first came in, so they should be done soon."

"Anything else you can tell me, Sid?"

"Well..you know she sustained wounds on her ankles and wrists from being bound. I did find something interesting..." Sid held out a small bowl and Mac picked up the small, gold cross inside.

"Where was this?"

"In her clenched hand. She wasn't raped, either. I think the killer is showing signs of guilt." Mac nodded slowly.

"Sid...I think you're right."

Don felt like a little part of his soul died when he told the Kleimer family their beloved daughter had been lost. The mother howled in despair. There was no sound as dreadful as a mother grieving for her child. No pain as severe.  
Her father cried, and her sister just stared into space. In a way, that was worse.

Don waited thirty minutes, it could have been longer, for them to get over the initial shock.  
"It all seems so futile...everything I have to say to you. I know nothing will ever lessen your pain. All I can say is how sorry I am...sorry that we didn't reach her in time." The parents cried silently at Don's words.

"And I can swear to you that every person in the NYPD is on this case. This is top priority. And we will find the killer. And he will never get out of jail once he's there. I promise you." He squeezed their hands and left quietly. He sat in the car feeling dead for a long time that turned out to be three minutes.

When he returned to the lab, Danny practically dragged him into the meeting room. Everyone else was in there.  
"Oh good, Flack. Lindsay processed the cross and Stella the clothes. They found epithelials." Flack's heart lurched as Mac pulled up a picture on the big screen.

"Marcus Hernandez." Flack felt dread creep over him as he felt the irritating twinges of familiarity creep into his mind. The man's face was unknown to him, but there was something in his personal information that Don knew. That he'd seen before. And he didn't know what it was, or where.

"This is a picture from 2001. We now believe him to have undergone some kind of gender reassignment programme. Thanks to help from Adam....this is a picture of what we think he looks like now." Mac pulled up the redeveloped image. Don strained to remember what it was that was familiar. He picked up the file and scanned through his details: phone number, credit card, last known address, car, where he went to school and university....Don couldn't remember what it was.

Danny saw Flack pouring over the case file a little too intently - the beginnings of a frown decorating his face. It didn't bode well.  
"Danny." Mac's voice pulled him out of his uneasy thoughts and he looked at everyone who was staring at him.

"What?"

"I said you and Hawkes go to his address. The warrant is already here..."

"Oh, right, sorry. Let's go!" They left quickly and Hawkes drove.

Stella took the opportunity to sneak over to Don when everyone else had left.  
"Ok, NOW I'm looking for the gossip." She winked. Don couldn't help but chuckle slightly, despite the concern circling his brain.

"What?"

"Oh don't play dumb, Flack! You're still seeing this guy, aren't you?" Don's lips curved into a shy smile unintentionally and she squealed happily.

"Oh good! Can I know anything yet? What's he like? What's his name?" Don sighed but smiled, he knew he could trust Stella not to say anything to anyone.

"His name is Xavier...he's...nice."

"Oh come on Flack. That's the kind of thing I say about my grandparents. What's he really like?"

"He's sweet! He's kind, really funny. He's taller than me, dark hair, his skin has got a slight colour to it I think he might have at least one foreign parent, he's got dark eyes...he's...really nice." He looked embarrassed and Stella laughed.

"He sounds gorgeous. So when-"

"Stella! You need to see this." She pulled a sad face at Flack and left begrudgingly.

Hawkes was concerned about Danny as they drove to Hernandez's house.  
"I hope we get this guy, man. You ok? You zoned out a little bit back there."

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah it's ok I didn't wanna drive anyway..." Hawkes looked at him incredulously.

"Dude, I asked if you were ok." Danny sighed.

"Sorry, Sheldon. Yeah I'm fine. I think this case is just getting under everyone's skin. I want him behind bars and this over with. I just have a bad feeling that it isn't yet." Sheldon nodded sadly.

"I agree. Here we are. 103 Linesten House. Which apartment is it?"

"...4a....ground floor apartment, interesting."

They hammered on the door and it was quickly answered by a very tall, very dark-haired, very tanned, very handsome man. Hawkes didn't like his sly eyes, and Danny didn't like his cocky stance.  
"Excuse me, sir. NYPD. I'm detective Messer, this is detective Hawkes. We're looking for a...Marcus Hernandez." The man leant against the doorframe, explicitly looking Danny up and down. It made his skin crawl.

"Yeah, I know Marcus. Can't say he's here though. He's been out of town far as I know."

"Are you his roommate?"

"You...uh...you could say that. I'm looking after the place while he's away."

"When did he leave?"

"About a week ago."

"Did he say where he was going? Or when he'd be back?" The man shook his head innocently.

"No, sorry. He's a...creative guy, Marcus. Last time he did this, he just upped and left one afternoon, and he was gone for a month. He came back, I asked where he'd been at, he tells me he wanted to paint the shores of Oregon. Can you believe that?"

"No. No, I really can't. We have a warrant to search the premises....if you step outside with this officer here, please." The man just smiled and did as he was told.

"Dammit Hawkes....I really thought we had that guy for a second...and his creepy roommate. Do you get the feeling there's a ring involved?"

"A ring? Of criminals all backing each other up and making us jump through hoops? Yeah, it's definitely looking possible."

"Penelope Kleimer's tox report, sir." Mac looked at the piece of paper and frowned.

"HCN....and that's it? Are you serious?!" The lab tech quivered and Mac apologised before storming off in frustration.

"Mac!!!!" Stella sprinted into his office.

"I've just found something really bad."


	10. Chapter 10

Danny and Hawkes were relieved to be heading back to the office. They could clock out and head home. Finally. It had been a long few shifts and they were beyond exhausted.

Don clocked out and picked up takeout on his way home. He was thrilled to be able to go home, have a thorough shower, and sit and watch a replay of the latest basketball game he'd missed Miami Heat VS Orlando Magic. Apparently it had been a great game. He tucked into his takeout, then downed two beers, and tried not to fall asleep like an old man on the couch.

He failed. At nine o'clock a gentle knock on his door woke him up and he shook himself awake. When he realised it was Xavier at the door, he felt his annoyance at being woken up disappear in place of a smile.  
"Hey! This is a sur-" Xavier stepped into the room and pulled Don against him, kissing him passionately in one swift movement. Don's body instantly began to heat up and he smiled against the lips, anticipating what was coming.

"I want to take you out somewhere. I've been planning a surprise for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah...do you have time? It's ok if not, sorry I just dropped round-" It was Flack's turn to interrupt him with a kiss.

"You can surprise me whenever you like." He smiled and shut the door, leaning against it while Don hurried about to get changed.

"You can come in. Sorry about the mess I fell asleep on the couch before I could clean up-"

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I didn't come here to see your apartment, did I?" Don poked his head out of the bathroom with a smile and ducked back inside.

Dark jeans, shoes, a white t-shirt and his leather jacket. Xavier's stomach curled with arousal when Don walked out. He looked good, and he knew it. He also smelled good, and Xavier struggled to maintain his perfect composure.

"God...you're so sexy. How did I find you, eh?" Flack's cheeks heated up slightly and Xavier grinned, pulling him out of the apartment with him.

"What?" Mac felt nauseous with fear as Stella told him.

"Xavier Morcello. He's the guy Flack's been dating. I struggled to get a print off the inside of those claws - only partials came back, but they're his."

"He was in AFIS?"

"Yes. Multiple accounts of rape - all of men. And one murder which he somehow got posted bail."

"How much?"

"I'm so glad you asked. $1,000,000 dollars....paid by one Angelo Morevas." Mac's heart fell to his shoes.

"Oh Jesus....right. You get the others. Let them all know what's happening. Has Don already clocked out?"

"Over an hour ago."

"Dammit! Ok, get the others and brief them. Then bring Morevas down here and get Lindsay and Hawkes to question him. I'm going to Flack's apartment. If he's not there - which I expect he won't be....then I'm coming back and I'm gonna track him and this sick son of a bitch down." Stella nodded and walked out, calling the others in.

When Stella told Danny that Flack was in danger, any thoughts or protests flew out the window and he rushed back into the building. It was the same for everyone else.

"So where are we going?" Flack gasped when Xavier had stopped kissing him in the back of the cab.

"To a little place my friend owns. There's gonna be a pretty exclusive party...and I think you're gonna enjoy it."

"What kind of party?" 

"You'll find out."

"Like a back room kinda deal..?"

"Stop it, detective, or you'll ruin the surprise!" Xavier winked and Don's arousal only heightened at being addressed by his job title, and the thought of the surprise. Xavier's mouth was on his pretty much the whole way there. When they reached their destination, Flack had no idea where they actually were.

"I've called Flack's cell eight times, it's just going straight to voicemail." The team all felt scared as Mac's voice came through the speakers.

"Ok. I found prints and an odd key on the door of Flack's apartment. I'm coming back. Danny and Adam, start tracking the GPS on Flack's phone and Xavier Morcello's. I want to find them before anything happens, not after, people."

Flack was guided through the dimly lit corridors to a room. It was vast, Don could tell. But it was so dark that he could see where it ended. The only light was red, above a spot in the middle of the room. Music blasted loudly from speakers and Don couldn't tell what it was. He could hear voices in the next room, but wasn't interested.

"So...uh..this is kind of what I'm into. I wanted to share it with you - if you trust me?" Don felt slightly wary, but not of Xavier. He trusted him.

"Of course. What is it?"

"Well we've already tried handcuffs at home. This is similar." He walked over to the spotlight and unclipped a three-story cabinet that Don could just make out in the darkness. He pulled out long chains with cuffs attached to one end, and clips to the other. He attached the clips to large rings hanging from the ceiling and then held out the other end.

"Want to try?" Don walked forwards, noticing the trickle of sweat that ran down his back. The room had a cavernous, humid feeling to it. It was swelteringly hot.

"What else have you got in there?" Xavier smiled shyly and opened up the other drawers, showing Don the other sex toys.

"Wow..."

"We don't have to get into it straight away, but I just thought maybe we could at some point-"

"I trust you....it's the place that's making me nervous."

"That's good. That's what it's meant to do. This room is actually a lot smaller than it feels, trust me it's safe." Don nodded.

"Wanna go to the party first?" Don didn't hear over the pounding music and Xavier repeated himself loudly.

"Ok...we could check it out." Xavier grinned and pulled him with him again. The bouncer on the door smiled at Xavier and let them inside. Sex, heat, music, voices, and skin hit Flack immediately and he felt a little overwhelmed. Xavier pulled him up against an empty section of wall and kissed him.

"Don't resist it. You have to let yourself go, or it'll overwhelm you. If you let it, this atmosphere will make you hotter than anything else you ever felt. Let it, Don." His husky voice helped Flack along and he closed his eyes as Xavier worked on his neck, teeth scraping along his soft spot.

"Take me into the other room." Flack gasped when a tanned hand worked its way into his boxers.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really appreciate some comments on this chapter especially!! Thank you so much for reading I hope you're enjoying it :D

"NYPD!!!" Mac flashed his badge at the cab driver and opened the back door. The two cell phones had been knocked down into the footwell.

"Who were your last customers?"

"A business man in a suit." He shrugged.

"What about before that?"

"Some girls headed out clubbing." Mac gestured for him to keep talking.

"Two gay guys - couldn't keep their hands off each other-"

"Was this them?" Stella pulled out the pictures of Don and Xavier, the cab driver nodded.

"I need you to take us where you took them." Mac and Stella quickly climbed into the back seat and bagged the phones on the way. An officer followed them in the marked vehicle.

Flack groaned as Xavier slid up his body, grinding against him from behind. Suddenly his hand was on his mouth. Flack saw the pill and jerked away from him.  
"What-"

"Sdshhh...baby, shhh. It's not what you think, it's just...something to uh...keep you going for as long as possible. I've already taken one."

"What- like Viagra?"

"Yeah. Viagra. That's all it is. Promise." He kissed him and then slipped it into his mouth. Don felt slightly uncomfortable but swallowed anyway.

In a matter of seconds he knew it was a lie.  
"Xavier- what is this? You lied to me-"

"I just want you to feel good. That's all, baby. I just want you...to feel..." Flack gasped as he knelt in front of him and pulled his already leaking cock into his mouth. His skin felt like it was on fire. It was too good, there was something wrong. Flack tried to pull away, and realised in panic that he could only move slightly. His limbs had just lost all their strength.

"You son of a bitch- what have you...done...to me?" Even speaking became a task, and Flack struggled to maintain his composure as Xavier sucked him off until he came in thick ropes.

"You feel good yet?" Xavier lifted up his head from where it had flopped to his chest.

"Yo....you....." Don couldn't say what he wanted to and felt tears well up where his body betrayed his mind.

"Good...I just want to make you feel good....so beautiful...." Flack felt panic rise in his chest as he heard the clank of the door, then voices. There were more people. He tried to move but couldn't. His body had turned almost to dead weight. He could only just move his fingers and head at a struggle.

"Oh man, you have really excelled yourself this time, Xav." Flack gritted his teeth and glared at the three men in front of him, trying to flinch as hands slid over his back.

"Am- am I in some kind of trouble?" The cab driver asked as he drove them.

"No. But you'll need to wait with the officer behind us while we go in. You're a witness." Stella explained gently when it was clear Mac wasn't going to. The driver nodded.

"What was the address you dropped them off at?"

"In the middle of some warehouses on 20th." 

"Dispatch: this is detective Mac Taylor I need backup on 20th Avenue, warehouses bordering the East River." As they approached, Mac radioed in with more details, heart pounding with....something. It could have been fear, could have been anticipation, dread, adrenaline. He couldn't tell.

"Ok. Did you see which door they went in?"

"Not the first one on your left, but I'm pretty sure it was the second one." Mac thanked him and headed towards it. Stella pulled him back firmly.

"Mac, we need to wait for-" A car screeched up behind them and they both spun round to see Danny and Hawkes climbing out with bullet-proof vests.

"For backup." She finished.

"No. Flack's in there - I won't lose him again, Stella. God knows what they're doing to him in there." Danny forced Mac to pull on a vest and they all approached the door quickly. They crept inside, the wave of heat slamming into them in a giant, humid breath. Marilyn Manson blasted from speakers, but it didn't mask the sound of voices and noises. Noises that made all of their stomach's churn.

Hawkes approached the bouncer who tried to run, and escorted him out with his hands up.  
"Where did they take him? Xavier Morcello - where is he?"

"I ain't saying nothing to you people." Hawkes shoved him outside as Mac broke open the first door they came to.

The sight inside tore rage through all of them.

Flack felt tears on his skin, it could have been sweat. His or theirs, he couldn't tell. Someone slid up inside him and started fucking him hard, it didn't take long before his body orgasmed once again, muscles contracting, his heart in overdrive. He had no cum left, but they wouldn't stop. They were relentless. He hated how every single touch aroused him. Every voice was sexy. He hated it. He wanted to scream or cry or fight and run away. But he couldn't. Instead, all he could do was listen to their taunts, their compliments, their sick voices. Feel their slimy touch. And he'd brought it all on himself. Shame was the worst emotion to feel, that and humiliation. 

Tonight, Don Flack had them both in abundance.

When he heard a crash, he thought it was more people come to party. When he heard Mac's voice, he wanted to cry. 

When Mac broke down the door his heart stopped. Don was chained to the ceiling, his arms stretched out above his head. He was covered in blood. His legs were being held by the man fucking him. Mac screamed  
"NYPD! Step away from him! Now!!"

Two of the men scattered, and Mac radioed the backup that were now positioned at every exit. Xavier Morcello strolled out in front of Don and lifted his head up by his hair.  
"Look who's come to save you, babe. Detective Taylor - do you want a turn? I know everyone else has." Another man laughed with him. Angelo Morevas was too far gone to laugh. Mac pointed the gun at him as he strode closer.

"I said step away from him! NOW!!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, detective." Morcello warned as two men stepped out of the shadow with guns. Flack made a pitiful noise as Morevas continued to fuck him.

"Morevas!" The man looked up, his eyes black. He slowed down and Mac got ready to pull the trigger.

"Step away from him. Now." The man smiled an evil grin, his chest heaving with exertion. He pulled out, dropping Flack to the floor, having no shame about his erection, and waved the two men off.

"Doesn't matter now, boys. I got what I wanted - twice. I guess three times was pushing it a little far." Mac growled at him and Stella shouted as Danny launched himself forwards, grabbing hold of him and pulling the gun from his hands.

"What I wouldn't give to see a million bullets in you!!!" Hawkes restrained Danny as officers ran in and restrained the three naked men, and then the two bodyguards. When they were gone, thy turned to Flack.

Flack whimpered as he was dropped, his knees hurting the floor. He pulled his pounding head up and rested it against one of his arms that had long since gone dead from being raised for so long.  
He wanted to cover himself, but he couldn't. He hadn't really heard what had been said. But he knew they were all there, knew they could all see him. So pathetic, so shameful.

Mac knelt down next to Flack and jumped when he jerked away from him weakly, fear in his eyes.  
"Flack - it's me. I'm not gonna hurt you. You're safe now."

"Not......not...you...Danny..." Mac felt hurt as Danny rushed over.

"Danny- don't let him....don't...let...him touch me...." Mac was shocked and stood up as Flack begged Danny for help. Danny looked at Mac sadly but nodded.

"It's ok. It's just me-" They were all shocked when Don moaned as Danny touched his shoulder comfortingly.

"Sorry....sorry....they...he...."

"Did he drug you, Flack?" Hawkes asked gently, Don was shaking and nodded weakly. Mac reasoned with his brain and pulled the key from his pocket, reaching up to find the lock. Sure enough, the key fit into the handcuffs. Don whimpered again as Mac touched his hands.

"Sorry, Don. It'll be over in a second. Hang in there." He unlocked them and Flack's arms fell to his aides. He slumped against Danny, almost lifeless.

"Hey! Can we get something to cover him up please?!" Danny shouted at the officers in the room, shielding Flack with his body. Trying to protect what little dignity the man had left.

Stella patted Mac's shoulder. She knew everything. She knew how it hurt him to see the way Danny loved Flack. But what really hurt, was that Don was afraid of him. For some reason.

The ambulance crew turned up as the officers handed Hawkes some backup prison scrubs. Danny pulled them on Flack as quickly as possible, knowing how embarrassed he was.

Flack tried to stop himself from making noise as Danny touched him. He was shaking from the effort. He needed to cum again. He needed to. The paramedics turned up and helped Danny pull him onto a gurney. Flack struggled against them weakly, wanting to sit up so he could cover himself.

"Flack, everyone knows you've been drugged, don't worry about it." Danny reassured him and sat in the back of the ambulance with him as the paramedics began to treat the injuries on his torso. Danny held him upright and tried not to look. There were bite marks - they all knew who had inflicted them - whip marks, lashings, cuts, welts, bruises beginning to blossom. Danny fought away his anger and held Don protectively, not caring if everyone would be able to tell how he felt.

"How long will it take for this drug to wear off?" Mac asked the ambulance crew after they'd checked him over.

"Well...his life isn't in danger, but they're going to affect him pretty seriously. He's going to be aroused for at least three hours. He's okay to go home, but he'll need someone with him. And I hate to say it but these drugs were designed to keep people aroused for as long as possible - are you his partner?" Danny flushed and shook his head as he was asked.

"Well...I hate to say it, and I'm not condoning or recommending it - but sexual activity is the only thing that's going to make him sober up quicker. So I suggest he goes home with someone who will be able to....sustain their self control." Danny nodded, still slightly red-faced. 

"Also. Take these. He's going to be in a lot of pain when the drug wears off." Danny took the painkillers and helped Flack to the car before turning to the others.

"Whose taking him home?"

"Well I'm obviously out of the running. One of you three."

"I don't mind taking him. But I'm not as strong as you two." Stella shrugged. Hawkes and Danny looked at each other.

"You've got the medical knowledge."

"You and Flack are best friends, I think he'd be less ashamed if it was you." Danny was clearly relieved that he'd been chosen and nodded.

"Ok. See you guys later." Hawkes left to talk to the suspects and Stella put a hand on Mac's shoulder.

"I just don't understand, Stella."

"I can't tell you why. But he wasn't afraid of you, Mac. He was ashamed of himself, he didn't want to...react to you.."

"I know he's been drugged, I don't care about that!"

"But he does. Try to put yourself in his shoes, Mac." She left and Mac thought about it, sighing heavily before joining them with the suspects.


	12. Chapter 12

Danny hauled Flack into the elevator of his building and into his apartment. He helped him change into boxers instead of the prison scrubs and made him lie on his bed. Flack tried to push the covers away.

"Too....hot..." Danny nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to ignore the squirming, aroused, gorgeous body next to him.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner, Flack." Guilt ripped through him, pointing it's ugly finger at him accusingly. Flack managed to lift a hand and placed it on his leg.

"...no....thank..thank you. If you hadn't....it was...it was my fault..."

"No. No Flack, don't go beating yourself up about this. He manipulated you, he's good at it. He's done it to other people-" Flack's eyes widened slightly and Danny cursed himself mentally.

"I- don't think about that. Sorry. But don't blame yourself, Flack. Please." Flack sighed and quickly moved his hand away as another wave of the drug hit him. He closed his eyes against it and Danny swallowed.

"It's....this is.....drivin' me...crazy, Messer."

"I can see that." Flack half opened his eyes, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, Danny's heart pounded quicker.

"Why didn't you want Mac to touch you?" He asked it quietly, looking down at his hand which fiddled with a section of sheet.

"You...know the answer...to that...already. Why...why ask me..."

"I just wanted to be sure....so you did it because you didn't want to get....like this?" He asked awkwardly, gesturing to Flack's body.

"Yeah......fat...lot of difference it made...." Danny smiled and chuckled gently.

"Well, it can't be helped."

"Actually..." Danny's heart was in his mouth and he struggled to remember the paramedic's words.

~ It'll take someone with strong self control.... ~

"...it can be...you heard him." Danny looked at him, shocked.

"I.....shut up, Don." He shook his head and Don made an indignant noise.

"It's...really painful!!! I need to...do something!" Danny sighed inwardly. Curse the man who made Don Flack beg him, Danny Messer, for sex and he not be able to honour his reauest.

"Well what the hell do you expect me to do?!"

"I don't...care. Do anything. Help me, please!"

"The only way this would happen would be if a prostitute was to walk in here right now and...sort you out. But that's not happening because you've already been taken advantage of like...way too many times. I'm not going to let anyone else contribute to that!"

"....fifteen....give or take." Danny stared at him. His eyes were dead all of a sudden, not aroused.

"What?" Don didn't repeat himself. A tear slid out of his eye and Danny couldn't bear it any longer. He leant down and wrapped his arms around Flack's lean, muscly shoulders and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry." A single hand came up to his back and he was glad for it. Then Don squirmed involuntarily and reminded them both that he was still painfully hard.

"I think....you should...leave me." Danny set him down on the pillows again and leant back.

"What- oh....I can't do that. What if you react badly to the drug? I could be sitting in my apartment worrying about you and you could be having a heart attack, or choking on your own spit, or-"

"I need....to get off..Danny." His name on Flack's flushed lips made his own belly curl with heat and he tried to ignore it.

"You need to rest."

"How am I supposed to rest with this?!" Don grabbed his crotch weakly and suppressed a moan. Danny could barely speak. He didn't know how to react.

"If you...don't leave...I'm gonna...do it...anyway. I....don't care." Don reached into his boxers slowly and Danny shot out of the room, closing the door behind him. He paced around the living room and started cleaning up Don's takeout cartons that had obviously been abandoned when Xavier had shown up. Anything to distract himself from the man - he'd fantasised about for years - getting off in the next room. It was only due to sheer exhaustion that Danny managed to win the battle against his own libido.

"Danny..." Flack's tired voice pulled him out of the cleaning frenzy he'd worked himself into. Don's apartment wasn't dirty or messy by any means, but Danny had managed to find things to do.

"Yeah?"

"You can come in now." Danny slowly walked in, Don was still hard and frustrated.

"I can't...my arms...I can't...." He looked in the other direction and Danny bit his lip.

"Can you...can I ask you..a favour?"

"Depends."

"I need to shower..." 

"But your injuries-"

"I don't care....I feel.....I can feel...I...." Danny felt anger flare up inside him again and he nodded, helping Don - who had regained a little strength in his legs - to the bathroom and lowering him into the tub.

"I'll be ok...thanks." Danny left him to clean himself up. He hadn't even thought of that, if they could drug and rape a man as beautiful and as kind as Flack, of course they wouldn't have the consideration to use a condom-

Danny interrupted himself. They hadn't used condoms. Shit. His heart pounded with fear as he dialled Hawkes' number.

"Hawkes."

"It's Danny-"

"Is Flack ok?"

"Yeah. He's getting better. Listen I need a favour. I need you to find out if any of the men who...you know...has any kind of STD."

"What- oh....oh god."

"Yeah."

"I'll put a rush on it. I'll do it all myself, hang in there."

 

Mac bumped into Hawkes rushing through the lab.  
"Woah- watch out Hawkes."

"Sorry Mac, I just need to- Danny asked me to test the suspects blood for STDs...." Mac sighed heavily and Hawkes nodded.

"Go." He strode away and Mac continued to seek out Stella. He was going to make her tell him what she knew about Flack. He couldn't wonder what it was any longer.

"I know! Lindsay I know-" Mac paused outside the meeting room when he heard Stella's voice.

"Stella. You have to tell him, poor Mac's gonna be sitting in his office thinking he's done something wrong!"

"Yeah but what about Flack?" Mac waited for a reply but there wasn't one.

"I'll ruin my friendship with Flack if I tell him, as it is, Mac understands that. It's not easy....but I can't do that to Flack. It's too cruel. It's not my place. He told me in confidence. And I've already told you!!!" Mac frowned in confusion.

"I know...ok...but...if Mac asks me, I don't think I'll be able to lie."

"Don't lie. Just tell him it's not your place to say. I absolutely hate keeping things from Mac, so I know what you mean. But please - for Don's sake, Lindsay." Mac chose that moment to walk in and Lindsay jumped.

"Mac! Hi!"

"Ladies. Are you alright?"

"Yeah...yeah...we're just worried about Flack." Mac nodded.

"Me too. But listen, we've got the assailants in custody, they're not going anywhere. We've got no more leads on the Barbie serial...go home. We all need some rest." They nodded and Lindsay left first, Stella hung back.

"You're going home too, right?"

"Yeah. Right behind you." She smiled gently and left.


	13. Chapter 13

Danny woke up the next day with a painful crick in his neck. He groaned quietly as he straightened it out. When familiar hands pulled him against the back of the couch and began rubbing the knot out, he couldn't help but smile.

He leant his head back to look up at Don. He turned around when he saw the misery on his face.  
"You feelin' ok, Flack?"

"Yeah...yeah, fine." He nodded. Danny knew it was a lie.

"Flack." Don looked down at the floor.

"I'm ok. I'm sorry about how I was yesterday-" 

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." Flack screwed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Look at me. Look at me. It was not your fault. Yeah, you misjudged his character. Yeah, you were reckless with your safety. But this is not on you, this is on them." Flack nodded slowly.

"You feelin' ok? Like...physically?"

"I fell asleep, woke up around 1am in pain. I took painkillers....I took some this morning too so...I'm fine." Danny nodded.

"Should've woken me up." He shook his head.

"I just...I'm so god damn humiliated, Danny." Flack blinked away tears, Danny did the same.

"I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner." Flack shook his head.

"No...you guys got there sooner than I thought. To be honest I didn't think you'd be able to find me." Danny took hold of one of his hands, cringing at the thick welts and bruising on his wrist.

"We'd never have given up 'till we found you." Flack pulled him in for a hug. Danny tried not to notice the feel of his skin, or his intoxicating smell, but failed.

"Thank you. Anyway...breakfast - my treat. And then we'd better get to the lab....the IAB's gonna have a field day with this..."

"Breakfast, yes. IAB, no. God no - why would you even consider talking to them?!"

"I'm gonna have to do it at some point!"

"They're gonna find a way to pin this on you. They'll make out like you put yourself in that position on purpose because of some psychological...crap."

"Well...we all know that's true." Danny was shocked and stared up at Don who just met his eyes. The pain was heart wrenching.

"...Mac?"

"Not just that...I mean...you know all the stuff with my family...my sister....and the shooting. I guess I just..." Danny nodded, inwardly screaming at himself. Why did he have to ask? Now he knew. And that knowledge would never go away.

"Right...breakfast. Go get clothes - you go out dressed like that and people throw eggs at you."

"Sounds like you're talking from experience, Messer."

"Oh you know me too well..." Danny closed his eyes against the pain. It didn't work.

Mac was horrified when he saw Danny and Flack walking into the lab the next day. He strode out to meet them, noticing the tense line of Flack's shoulders. The way his stance had changed from confident and cocky to deflated, humiliated and scared.  
"What are you doing here?"

"I figured I needed to talk to IAB."

"I told him not to." Danny held his hands up in mock surrender when Mac stared at him accusingly.

"No, Flack."

"I need to get this sorted out as quickly as possible, Mac. I just want it over with."

"You need to sit and have a long think about why you did what you did, and get your story straight." Flack's expression suddenly turned dark and his jaw clenched.

"I have it straight." He snapped angrily.

"Fine. Talk to them - but don't come to me when they talk you out of your badge." Flack turned on his heel and walked away. Danny and Mac watched as an officer rounded the corner and Flack jumped nearly two feet in fear. He looked at him in concern and apologised, but Flack was already in the elevator, head in his hands.

"Shall I go after him?"

"No...you stay here. I will." Danny opened his mouth to argue, but Mac had already gone.

Flack's heart was in overdrive as he was surrounded by people outside the building. Without Danny by his side, he felt very alone and vulnerable.  
He made it a block before his fear paralysed him and he cut into an alley between two apartment blocks. The only things there were storage crates and fire escapes. No people. Flack couldn't hold back his tears and flinched when he heard footsteps. The determined gait was instantly recognisable and Flack sighed.

"Leave me alone, Mac."

"You only made it a block. Look at you."

"I know!! Just leave me!" Don forced the moisture in his eyes back inside and smacked a fist against the brick to ground himself.

"Flack."

"I can't do this anymore."

"What's going on? Talk to me." Mac watched sadly as Flack battled with himself.

"I can't do that." He whispered, unable to turn and meet Mac's eyes as he spoke.

"Flack. Tell me."

"I....I....." Mac sighed silently. Flack collapsed on his knees and leant his head against the cold bricks, crying quietly. He'd pushed it inside, retreated into himself for so long that he couldn't say it.

"Let me take you home."

"I d-don't wanna g-go back there." His breath caught in his throat and he stammered involuntarily.

"Ok, come back to my place then." He shook his head slowly and cleared his throat. It hurt Mac to see Don's face when he turned around. Dishevelled, tear-stained, older than his years, drained.

"I'm gonna go for a walk."

"What about all the people?" He asked quietly, Don looked out onto the street and almost immediately retreated back to the wall.

"Let me take you somewhere. Let me do something." Don looked at him emptily.

"I wish you could." It was several minutes before they spoke again, Mac joined him in leaning against the wall, watching the street.

"Did you love him?" Flack was surprised by the question.

"Xavier?" Don snorted, "no." Mac was surprised by the answer.

"I thought you did."

"No....he was a good distraction though." From what, it was clear Mac wasn't allowed to ask.

"It's all just...too much, Mac." He closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. For a moment, he looked peaceful at last.

"I wasn't scared of you last night." Mac was surprised at the emotion the ocean blue eyes held.

"I know."

"Do you? Must've looked that way....I didn't want to embarrass myself any more....its ok with Danny. He's seen me do some stupid things in my time." They both laughed quietly.

"I guess."

"Honestly - I wasn't scared of you. You have no idea the relief I felt when I saw you come running in that room..." Mac was relieved to hear the words.

"I'm just sorry-"

"No. You saved my life. I know that."

"Well...one good turn and all that." Don smiled at him. It was the most honest smile Mac had seen from the younger man. He knew it was a smile he'd treasure.

"Mac." Don said in farewell, offering his hand which Mac shook. It was then that Danny rounded the corner.

"Hi...sorry, I was worried. Couldn't concentrate." Mac nodded.

"You two take the day off. Don't argue with me, Flack. You need the company." He didn't try to protest and just nodded, leaving with Danny glued to his side. Mac sighed as he watched them leave, there was too much pain surrounding all of them. He wished with every part of his soul that he could snatch it away from his team and feel it himself, carry their burden for them. But that wasn't possible. However, the knowledge that Danny was in love with Flack was knowledge that Mac was just beginning to come to terms with.

 

Danny struggled all day. Being in such close proximity to the gorgeous man for so long was bad enough. But when he kept jumping in fear and becoming panicked where he would usually be confident worried Danny beyond belief.

Danny forced him to go out to lunch, and then they watched baseball games on catchup.  
"Right. I'm hungry again - what about you?" Danny nodded in agreement and walked with Don to the kitchen.

"What do I have....I've got ingredients for a pasta thing...we could have tuna steaks..." Danny tried in vain not to stare at Flack's perfectly rounded ass as he bent down to look into the fridge.

"Ooh tuna. I vote tuna." Don laughed and his smile was infectious. All too often, Danny would often catch himself and just think "wow" when he realised the effect Flack's smile had on his own wellbeing.

"Okay so the fish is my speciality - but you're meant to be lookin' after me, Messer. Make yourself useful." Flack winked and pulled the ingredients out of the fridge, knocking the door closed with his hip. Danny joined him and fetched more beers, helping him by cutting up vegetables.

"So when are you gonna see the counsellor?" Danny asked quietly. Don paused for a moment before continuing to season the fish.

"I guess I'm gonna have to, huh..."

"Yeah."

"When I go back then, I guess." Danny nodded, relieved.

"Good. Good." 

"'Xcuse me." Danny wanted to shrivel up and die as Don not only put him large hands on his hips to move him out the way, but then bent down directly in front of him to get the right pan from the drawer. Danny flushed and had to excuse himself. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was red, as in, bright red.

"Cmon Danny what are you, twelve?" He cursed at himself before returning. He felt even more hot under the collar when he pulled of his sweater and his shirt rode up, causing Flack to whistle at him.

"Shut up, Flack."

"Oh, don't disappoint me, Messer. I thought you were treating me to a striptease back there." Danny rolled his eyes, but his inside, his body and mind were far from the relatively cool exterior he was struggling to maintain. His heart was pounding hard in his ears, so much so that he felt a little nauseous, and his mouth was dry. All he could think about was the word "treat." Did that mean Flack would consider it a treat if Danny stripped? No, no of course not, Danny chided himself. But the seed had been planted now, and he couldn't get the words out of his mind.

"Yo!" Danny fumbled to catch the baseball that was thrown at him.

"What?"

"I've asked you three times! How well do you want your tuna cooked?"

"However you have it is fine." Don nodded and turned around to cook, Danny leant against the back of the couch and couldn't help but take the opportunity to look at Flack's body. He was so tall, but graceful, his muscles were lean and prominent under his t-shirt. His hair just begged to be pulled. Danny chided himself yet again, forcing his mind elsewhere. He started up a conversation about the next week's football game, trying desperately not to give himself away.


	14. Chapter 14

"Mac, we need to call Danny. We need as many people as possible on this." Stella said breathlessly as she rushed into his office.

"No, Stella. I told you, if Danny comes in, Flack will come in. And Flack cannot take any more stress. You didn't see him yesterday...he's a mess."

"Well I'm sorry Mac, but we need more people!!!" He signed and rubbed his head wearily before nodding.

"Fine. I'm calling, though." Stella thanked him and left.

"Messer."

"Hi Danny. Listen, don't say anything out loud, ok? Except for yes, ok and no."

"Ok..?"

"Is Flack doing ok?"

"Yes."

"Good. The serial's hit again. We're rushed off our feet and we need you here. I held off for as long as possible, but we really need more people. So I need you to come in, but do not let Flack-"

"Don't even try to stop me, Mac." Mac groaned.

"Flack - go away, put Danny on the phone."

"No chance. We'll both be there in twenty minutes."

"Dammit!!" Mac cursed and slammed his phone on the desk before leaving to help the others.

The most recent victim was Amelia Lockhart, a well-known hair stylist. She had been posed in the same, remorseful way as the previous victim.

"Mac....I think I've got tears." Mac nodded in agreement as Stella shone the UV light over the woman's body.

"Great. Get them to DNA ASAP." He let Hawkes take the body, and Lindsay followed to take the clothes. He was documenting the crime scene when Danny and Flack arrived.

"Batman and Robin return." They both laughed then frowned at each other.

"I hope you don't think you're Batman, little guy." Danny shoved Flack's shoulder as he teased him. Seeing them interact like that made Mac's stomach tighten uncomfortably.

"Everything on this case is a rush. Danny, go over there with Adam. There's tyre treads - start documenting. Flack. Go home." Flack's expression turned sour.

"Not a chance."

"I saw you yesterday, you're a mess, Flack. You haven't spoken to IAB yet. You haven't been cleared by the counsellor to work. Get out of here."

"Mac, I can't just sit by-"

"If you don't do as I say, you're fired." Flack looked at him in shock then, mumbling words under his breath, he stormed off, flinching in pain when someone knocked into him.

"How's he been?" Mac asked Danny quietly.

"Good. I made him leave the apartment for breakfast and dinner. He was a little jumpy, but got better with time." Mac thanked him and continued processing.

 

Flack's world was seen through red as he stormed back to the office. He was going to talk to IAB. Go to the counsellor, get cleared, then go straight back to that goddamn crime scene if it did get him fired.

"So....why did you go there in the first place?" Flack hated IAB agents. He kept his composure deadly serious, and thought about his answer.

"I did trust him, on a certain level. If I didn't trust him, I wouldn't have gone. I thought it was going to be a party. Not...well, what it was." She nodded.

"What happened when you got there?"

"We went into the room, he showed me....the...sexual enhancement equipment." She nodded.

"Then we went into the other room. I didn't focus on the other people in the room, I didn't see Angelo Morevas, or the other men."

"What happened then?"

"You know what happened then."

"I'd like you to tell me." He kept his stare on her hard and steady, he knew if he didn't swallow his pride he'd lose his badge.

"Very well. We went back into the first room. He put me in the cuffs-"

"Did you realise when he'd first arrived at your apartment that he'd planted the keys to the same cuffs there?"

"No of course not. I was out of the room when he did that." She nodded and indicated for him to proceed.

"We engaged in sexual intercourse. He then tried to give me a pill, and I wouldn't let him. He told me it was Viagra, and that he'd already taken one, so I swallowed it."

"You believed that? As a homicide detective. You believed that he was giving you Viagra?"

"I started to feel apprehensive, yes. But I was already in the cuffs, and like I said, I trusted him." He was losing his temper and fought it down.

"Then what?"

"Then everything changed. I felt the effects of the drug, and as soon as it had kicked in. The other men came into the room. Next thing I know-"

"What happened when the other men came into the room?" Flack was far beyond humiliated and wanted nothing more than to punch the smug bitch in the mouth. And he'd always been a firm believer that men who hit women were scum.

"I'm sure that's obvious enough." She raised her eyebrows.

"They each took a turn. Maybe two. I can't be sure. After that- Mac and the rest of the team came into the room and saved me." She nodded and gestured for him to wait.

"Now...one last question, detective Flack. Do you think your actions that night displayed a reckless behaviour and put every member of your team at risk?"

"I think my actions that night were a direct result of being manipulated excellently by Xavier Morcello. And dealing poorly with the emotional stress I was under."

"Surely you're under far more emotional stress now. Are you going to deal with it in the same way?"

"No. Check my file, I've already booked in fifteen appointments with the in-house counsellor. Will that be all?" She nodded and switched off the tape. Flack turned back as he moved to leave.

"There's a special place in hell for people like you." With that he left, feeling even more alone and scared of losing his badge and credibility than before. He went straight on to his counselling appointment.

"Ah, detective Flack. It's good to see you." He shook Dr Sarah Cunningham's manicured hand and sat down.

"Hello Doc."

"Sarah, please." He nodded.

"So, you've booked a decent set of appointments...what would you like me to call you?"

"Don or Flack, your choice."

"Ok, Don. What brought about this sudden need for counsel?"

"You know. Everyone knows..." He said bitterly. Her face was patient and kind, not patronising like the last counsellor the New York P.D had hired.

"Still, why don't you tell me about it when you're ready."

"I'm not ready."

"That's ok. Why don't you tell me how it makes you feel that everyone knows about it?" He met her eyes cautiously and nodded.

"Ok, I think I can do that." She smiled.

"Mac!" He spun round to see Stella running towards him.

"DNA came back on the tears. They're from a Manny Perez. Last known address is on East 95th street."

"Downtown Brooklyn. Let's go." 

Mac and Stella - along with about ten officers secured the building and broke into the fourteenth apartment. Manny Perez fled the scene.

Mac and two officers flew after him through the streets, guns drawn, as luck would have it, a patrol car rounded a corner and apprehended Perez on his way. He kicked and screamed wildly, growling and snapping at the officers like something possessed.

"Get him out of here." Mac and Stella had grim expressions as the officers took him away.

"We've got him this time."


	15. Chapter 15

"Manny Perez...." Mac sat down opposite the transsexual who glared at him.

"My name is Yelena Perez."

"You killed....all of these women." He slowly laid out the crime scene photographs, one by one. Gradually, Perez's face became more drawn and less angry.

"You don't got shit on me...."

"Actually...." Mac pulled the DNA results.

"When you raped your second victim, Laura Samson, your condom split..." Mac pulled the comparison sheets to the tears.

"...and your DNA matched the tears we found on Penelope Kleimer's body." Manny Perez put his head in his hands.

"I can't...tell you the pain I feel for those girls..."

"But especially Penelope and Amelia?" He nodded, tears dripping onto the table.

"Why did you do it?" Manny looked up, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

"I....that's all I ever wanted....I lived as a girl for years. My parents kicked me out...and even after that, I was denied surgery...couldn't afford it anyway. I found a doctor willing to do it. Turns out, you get what you pay for. I can't be a man or a woman now....I saw those women...they're all I wanted to be." Mac nodded grimly. Perez was in a trance.

"...I killed them....and...I'm even more of a monster now....arrest me. I'll confess to all of them. I won't put up a fight."

Half an hour later, Mac left the interrogation room, and the entire team was watching through the glass.

"We got him."

"Finally."

"Good work, all of you. I know the stress this has put us under. But it's done now, and I want all of you to take the rest of the afternoon off." They all smiled and left, except Don who Mac waved into his office.

"How'd it go?"

"With?"

"The counsellor." Flack sat down.

"Ok." Mac raised his eyebrows.

"It went fine. Better than expected - she's better than that patronising bitch we used to have." Mac chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"And IAB?" Flack rubbed a hand over his heavily shadowed eyes, flinching in pain when he shifted and knocked an injury on the chair.

"Awful....to be honest...I blew it. I'm waiting for a call to turn in my badge." Mac nodded and Flack met his eyes sadly. There was so much emotion in the blue pools, but Mac couldn't decipher any of it. Don Flack had always been hidden behind a mask, since the day he hired him.

"Well, I guess I'd better tell you that I got a call from IAB this afternoon to say that you did outstandingly well, given the circumstances. The woman who did the interview with you informed them that you were clearly taking the appropriate steps to seek help. She said your attitude was surprisingly collected, and she asked them to ask me to apologise to you for pushing you so hard. It's their job." Don was shocked beyond words and nodded dumbly. Mac smiled.

"So...sorry, you're stuck with me for, hopefully a few more years. If you don't get yourself killed before then." Flack laughed.

"Thank you, Mac." He nodded and held out his hand for Don to shake which he did as he stood.

"You gonna take the time off too, Mac?"

"Oh..."

"Come on. I think the others are going to Harold's Place down the road - come meet them with me. It's been too long since we all hung out together." Mac nodded and pulled his coat off the back of the chair.

He noticed that Flack wasn't flinching as they walked down the busy street. And when they entered the bar to join the rest of the team, his broad smile was back to normal. For a moment, Mac could see the old Flack returning.

The team drank too much, chatted, enjoyed the rarity that was socialising. Hawkes and Danny were soon distracted by a football game on the TV, and Lindsay was swept away to dance by a handsome man.  
"See? Lindsay's bagged herself a man - get out there, Stel." Flack joked, Mac agreed and Stella shook her head.

"Not after the last two creeps."

"Go on, that guy over there hasn't stopped looking at you since he got in here." Stella turned around and then back quickly, hiding her smile poorly.

"Not a chance."

"It's time you got back out there, Stel."

"You're a bit too encouraging Flack, you trying to tell me something?" He grinned and winked jokingly. Mac chuckled, Flack really always had flirted with everyone.

"Ok then, dance with me and maybe he'll get so jealous he'll interrupt." Stella laughed and let Don pull her onto the floor, dancing with her effortlessly. Mac watched them happily, noting Stella's smile, and the way Flack's movements were surprisingly effortless and graceful considering his height.

Sure enough, the man did interrupt them, and Stella hesitantly agreed to dance with him. Flack returned, rubbing his side with a well hidden wince.  
"You're in pain?" Flack shrugged.

"I'll live."

"Where did you learn to dance?" Flack raised an eyebrow then chucked bashfully. Mac smiled at the colour rising in his cheeks.

"Uh...my dad made me and my sister learn when we were younger. We gave up in middle school, but I carried on classes."

"I'm impressed. What classes did you take?"

"Ballroom, Latin. I gave up at the end of high school, but you remember things. It's sort of like riding a bike. You get rusty, but it doesn't go away." Mac smiled, it was the most honest thing he'd ever heard about the young detective.

"What about you? How's the guitar playing going?" Mac looked at him.

"Stella didn't tell me, exactly." He chuckled and he and Don continued talking for the rest of the evening. He discovered a lot of things that night. He found out that Don Flack hated white wine and cats, he was a keen cook, and he secretly liked jazz music.

Don walked home that night, allowing himself to indulge in happiness. He'd had Mac to himself almost all night. He'd learnt about Mac playing the guitar, how he loved chilled out rock, jazz, and classical music. He preferred dogs to cats too, and he originally wanted to be a doctor. Don let the pure happiness and pleasure he'd derived from discovering those things course through him.

He was still on a high when there was a knock on his door, two hours later. He answered it apprehensively, but when he saw Danny he was thrilled and shoved the door open. He laughed when Danny stumbled in, clearly drunk.

"You did well at the bar, then. Woah- careful." Danny waved him off and struggled to find the words for what he wanted to say. Don waited patiently as Danny pointed at him, hand and body swaying.

"You are so....bad...at lying. Ever-everyone knows now, Donny. Everyone could see it..." Dread shot through Don's mind.

"See what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, man!" He frowned as Danny shouted, angry.

"You're in love with Mac! And...and you just let everyone see it!" Flack denied it at first but soon gave up when Danny became increasingly angered towards him.

"Ok! Ok, fine. Why's it a problem?"

"Because he doesn't love you! Ok? He doesn't love you!"

"Thanks, Danny. You're really helping my heartache over here." He shook his head.

"No...HE doesn't love you! I'm not just saying he doesn't love you, oh, he doesn't love you Flack..." Flack waited for Danny's drunk mind to get back on track.

"I mean.....HE...can't, love you. Not...not after Claire. And he's straight. And you're..." Danny hung his head sadly and Don shook his.

"I know that. But I can't help it." Danny sobbed dryly.

"I know...but I wish you could just....just see....yeah. Yeah. Just see for once!"

"See what?"

"For the love of God, WHY are you so stupid?!" Danny yelled at him before crying softly.

"What?! I'm sorry, Danny, look. You're drunk, I don't understand what you're saying."

"Well look, I sure as hell cant do this when I'm sober. You're a stupid...stupid man. You're barking up the wrong damn tree."

"Yeah...I know that already. But I can't help barking, it's an involuntary bark."

"No!!! You're...you should be barking up a different tree!"

"What tree?"

"My tree! For god's sake...you've never been able to see it..." Don frowned in confusion.

"See what, Danny?"

"I'm in love with you, Flack. I have been for....forever. I-I love you."


	16. Chapter 16

Danny felt pounding. Where was it from? Oh....his head, he realised shakily as he sat up the next morning.  
He groaned and placed his head in his hands gently. A long arm moved in front of him, and he realised Don was placing a mug of steaming hot coffee and what looked like an aspirin on the table. At that time, it could have been heroin and Danny would have taken it if he thought it would've lessened his headache.  
"Oh...God, thank you." He gulped back the liquid, instantly feeling slightly more human.

When he looked up at Don, he wasn't smiling. He looked sad, he looked empty.  
"Flack? Oh god, what happened? Did I puke somewhere?" Flack shook his head.

"You don't remember? Think, Danny. Think." His voice was almost angry, and Danny frowned as he struggled in concern to remember what had happened.

 

Oh....God.

 

Flack saw the realisation cloud Danny's face, he covered his mouth with one hand and stared up at Don in panic.  
"Flack- I...I-"

"Don't bother trying to deny it. You told me everything last night. How could you keep this from me?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you! And I never expected anything back! I knew you'd never feel the same, I knew it so I didn't wanna ruin our friendship over nothing!" Danny stood up as he spoke loudly, panicking to find the right thing to say.

"Nothing? You think this is nothing? Our whole damn friendship has been a lie!!!"

"No. No. You're my best friend, too. This doesn't change that-"

"Yes it does."

"No, it doesn't! Flack, look I get that this must be a shock but you like guys yourself- it's not that big of a deal, right?" Flack looked at him and Danny realised that wasn't the problem.

"You're not mad at me having feelings for you..." Flack shook his head angrily.

"I am angry that you've been lying through your teeth at me for years!! YEARS!!!" Danny flinched as Flack shouted in his face, jabbing a finger into his chest painfully.

"God knows....all the shit I've been through - I trusted you more than anyone...I trusted you...with everything. I let you touch me when I wouldn't anyone else that night - you were probably enjoying it..." Don trailed off bitterly and Danny fired up, now angry.

"How dare you. HOW DARE YOU LOWER ME TO THOSE RAPISTS LEVELS!!" Don glared at him, chest rising and falling in anger.

"Nothing has ever hurt me more than seeing you in so much pain, and you have the nerve to accuse me of enjoying it?! Of taking advantage of you like those scumbags?!" Guilt overrode Don's anger as he saw tears begin to fall down his friend's face.

"Danny-" Danny shoved him away and grabbed his shoes as he walked out the door. Flack cursed when he realised the other man had forgotten his phone.

Danny pulled his shoes on in the stairwell, heading towards his apartment.

"Don, I need you working with Adam and Lindsay on a case downtown. They're at a bodega on 87th." Mac frowned in concern when Don just nodded bleakly and left. Danny had called in sick, he knew it wasn't a coincidence. He was supposed to be joining Hawkes on a case in Long Island, but he called Danny first. His cell phone rang and went to voicemail. He then tried his home phone. Danny wasn't answering that, either.

"Danny...I know you're at home, pick up. Danny. Danny. I just want to know you're ok? Can you pick up? Please?" Danny sighed. Not answering Mac was one of the hardest things to do. He lifted the phone tentatively.

"Hi..." Hearing Danny's voice so weak and thick with tears was like a punch to the gut for Mac.

"Danny, you ok?"

"Yeah...yeah, I think last night got me run down and I've got this flu thing.."

"Didn't give to Flack as well, did you? He didn't look so good this morning." Danny was quiet for a long time.

"Nah....he thinks.....I've been....sorry, Mac. I gotta go, I....I appreciate you looking out for me, anyways."

"Danny. If you need me, I'm here."

"I know that...thank you." Danny hung up and let the tears come. He couldn't physically hold them down anymore.

"Flack?" Lindsay frowned as she awoke the detective from the trance he'd fallen into as she was briefing him. 

"Sorry, Linds."

"You still hungover? I know I am.."

"Nah, nah. It's fine. Go ahead." He could hardly process what his own thoughts, let alone the words coming from everyone's mouth. Don undertook each task: researching the victim, finding next of kin, going to inform them of their loss, returning to see if the team had anything else for him to investigate. All he wanted to do was find Danny and talk to him. He didn't understand, was his friend even being entirely serious? Was he just attracted to Don, or did he genuinely have feelings for him?

Don was too shocked to tell.

Danny received a call from Lindsay on her lunch break.  
"Hey, I heard you were sick. Hangover?"

"Nah...I'm not feeling well. It's not the drink..."

"Oh, Danny you don't sound good. I'm sorry, do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No...thanks though, Montana." She chuckled gently and bid him goodbye. Danny couldn't help but think forwards to the next day. How could he face Mac, knowing that he knew about his feelings for Don? How could he stand in the same room, walk past, and work on the same cases as Don now? After what he'd told him? He'd ruined everything. He'd destroyed their friendship forever, and he couldn't bear that it was all his fault.

"Taylor - we've got a 419 over at the Museum of Natural History...the victim is a little girl." Mac responded to the call from another detective quickly, picking up Stella on the way, they raced to the museum. Anger flared in his mind when he saw the tourists and locals trying to take photos and film. Thank god the little girl was still in the building.

"When did you get the call?"

"The museum manager - Peter Hill - called me a few minutes ago. He said he rounded the corner going to the security office and there she was..." He directed them towards the office and there was the little girl, laying out like a discarded rag doll. Stella knelt next to her sadly.

"She's so beautiful....have you heard from the parents?" The detective shook his head.

"No, no reports of missing children to the reception from parents today. There were some earlier in the week but they were all resolved within an hour."

"Can you ask the head of security for the tapes from today, please? We need to find out who this little girl came in with." Mac asked, he nodded and left. Two doctors, arrived from the M.E's office arrived to take the body away. Stella and Mac began investigating the crime scene.

"I wonder why Flack didn't pull this case."

"I think he responded to the bodega one downtown with Lindsay and Adam." She nodded understandingly.

"Taylor." Mac answered as his phone rang, there were too many cases going on at once.

"Hi, it's Hawkes. Do you think we could get Danny to come in? I'm struggling by myself over here."

"Right...Long Island..." He sighed, he didn't want to bring Danny in on any cases that day, but it couldn't be helped.

"Sure, give him a call."

"Thanks boss."

"Yo Danny....Danny you there? Look, I know you're sick but I'm working a case on Long Island, and it's just too much to do all by myself. I wouldn't have called if I wasn't desperate, so when you get this could you call me back? Thanks, bye." Danny sighed and picked up the phone before Hawkes hung up, getting the address before leaving.

"Holy crap- why didn't you call me sooner?!" Danny asked the other CSI when he arrived at the house in Long Island. There had been multiple victims, two adults and a teenager, to be precise. 

"I knew you were sick. Sorry, man." Danny waved him off and helped him collect evidence at the house before Hawkes headed back to the lab to get the results from the bodies and process their clothing.

Working was surprisingly helpful in distracting Danny, and he was almost relieved that Hawkes had called him in.  
When he finished up, after finding unusual trace on the floor, fibres in the broken, splintered door and shell casings. And talking to the neighbours, identifying the victims, he too returned to the lab. He was parking the car when he saw Flack outside with another detective having a coffee. He drove around the block three times to avoid walking past him.

"Danny - the victims were shot with a shotgun, old school one at that. Sid said that they all died from exsanguination due to the bullet wounds. And...more interesting? They were all involved in sexual activity just prior to their deaths." Danny raised his eyebrows.

"....with each other?" Hawkes nodded.

"Yep, they all had each other's DNA on them." Danny pulled a face.

"Well, the neighbours identified the adults as a married couple - a Mr Oliver Dean and Mrs Maria Dean. They said that the boy - his name could be Christian or Christoph or something like that, I got conflicting statements - visited them a lot. Like....a few times a week. They said that they thought he was doing DIY work for them or something."

"Man...the stuff that goes on behind closed doors. So have you found anything on them?"

"I'm running them all now, nothing's come up on the couple yet, but it's still searching. Right now, I'm just looking for missing persons reports that could be our teenage vic." Hawkes nodded, shifting the box of clothes in his hands.

"How old do you reckon he was? I think he looks older than he is." Danny nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he was pretty well built, I think that made him look older. I'd say seventeen at the oldest." Hawkes nodded grimly.

"Man...anyway, call me if you get anything, I'm going to start processing."

Danny was sat, half asleep, waiting for results to come up when he heard footsteps.  
"Hi..." He tensed up when he recognised the voice.

"Hey..."

"You feelin' better? I heard the others say you were sick."

"Don't patronise me. I didn't wanna make things more awkward..."

"I wanted to apologise for what I said to you earlier, Danny. I know you're nothing like Morevas. I handled it horribly, but I was angry. I lost it." Danny screwed his eyes shut and nodded.

"I'm sorry for lying to you....but...this is why I didn't wanna tell you. I knew it'd make things weird for us."

"Were you being serious?" Don walked around the table to be opposite him. Danny looked down at the screen.

"Yes."

"Like...to what extent?"

"To the extent that I am in love with you for gods sake! Didn't I make that clear yesterday?!" He rubbed his heated cheeks with cold hands and refused to look at Don when he asked him to.

"Danny...I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."

"I told you...you don't have to say anything." He met his eyes sadly.  
"I don't want you to say anything, I want it to go back to before...." Flack wanted to say something, but he didn't know what would make it better. It was strange knowing how Danny felt, because it was making him look at him differently. It was making him consider, involuntarily, what it would be like to be with him romantically rather than as friends. He was attractive, Don had always been able to see that, but he'd always been so fixated on Mac that he'd never stopped to really take Danny in.

"Flack?" Flack blinked and snapped out of his thoughts guiltily.

"Sorry...was just thinking...." Danny sighed.

"Are things gonna be this awkward forever?"

"No. No, come on. You're still my best friend." He walked around the table and noticed how Danny's Adam's apple jumped.

"You'll always be the one who knows me best, Messer." Danny suddenly sprang from the chair like a scared animal when Don moved to hug him.

"I-I, uh...sorry. Sorry, I just can't...do this...now. It's too difficult." Flack was hurt initially, but remembered what it had been like when he'd thought Mac was going to touch him that night.

"No, no, I get it. Don't worry." Danny nodded.

"I'm....gonna go. Listen, can I see you later? I think we need to talk about this." Don said as his phone began to ring. Danny hesitated, the tension palpable through the shrill ringtone.

"I don't think there's anything else to talk about."

"The longer we avoid each other, the more difficult it's going to get. I won't lose you, Messer." Wth that, he left in one fluid motion, leaving Danny alone with his pounding heartbeat.


	17. Chapter 17

Flack arrived at Danny's apartment late that night, nervous, guilty, apprehensive, but determined. He'd meant what he'd said.

"Hey." Danny shot him a half a smile and stood aside to let him in.

"You been cleaning, Messer?"

"It needed doing." They both knew what he meant was that he'd been nervous so had cleaned the entire apartment from top to bottom in an attempt to distract himself.

"Want a beer?"

"Please." Danny passed him one and they sat down on the couch awkwardly. The silence was heavy.

"I didn't want to-"

"I'm sorry I freaked-" They both laughed as they spoke at the same time, Danny gestured for Flack to start.

"I just wanted to say I don't want to make things awkward, but I know if we leave it then we'll never get back to normal." Danny nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry for earlier...you were great and I just couldn't handle it."

"I know, I know. I was the same the other night when Mac-" Flack cut himself off, cursing himself for being so stupid.

"Oh god, Danny I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. It's cool."

"It's not cool, I'm such a bonehead, sorry-"

"Flack. I've known about you being in love with Mac since like...forever. Don't worry about it."

"Oh Jesus....well, I'm sorry for bringing it up." Danny shook his head.

"Still though, I can't believe what a mess this has become.....I'm in love with Mac, you're in love with me, and he's in love with you! It's just a huge-"

"What?!" Don turned and froze when he saw Danny's jaw practically at his feet.

"Oh god...oh god, oh god, no-"

"Mac....Mac has...feelings for...me?"

"Uh...well...not exactly...I mean I don't know for sure-"

"Flack, quit babbling."

"Yeah, ok. At least, I'm like almost completely sure he does. Shit- don't tell him, Danny. I can't believe what a big mouth I've got..." Flack bent over, banging his head on his knees gently and Danny just sat in shock.

"It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?! Shit....now I know how you felt..." Don shrugged in agreement.

"Man...how did everything get this complicated?!" Danny leant his head back on the couch in the same way Don had done. They laughed and eventually looked at each other. Danny's smile had always been infectious, and incredibly cute and mischievous at the same time. He hadn't shaved, there were flecks like in his hair that were bright blonde. His eyes were an amazing shade of green.

"I never noticed the colour of your eyes before..." He mumbled hoarsely. Danny's pulse quickened. Every experience from the past few years told him to stand up and move away before he did something stupid, but the moment was too intense for him to think about moving. All he could think about was Flack. The expression on his face, his eyes, the way their legs were touching.

Flack leant forwards and brushed his lips against the other man's before he thought about it. Danny stiffened but then his lips moved back against his, ever so slightly. Suddenly he pulled away but Don had put a hand on the back of his neck before he could. Danny struggled against him and tried to speak, but that not resulted in giving Flack an opportunity to slip his tongue into Danny's mouth and find his.

Danny's heart was beating so hard and fast he thought he might die. Don was everywhere, his hand was on his neck, and the other one, cold from the beer bottle, had moved to his side. His scent was in his nose, his lips moving against his, and then his tongue.  
~ oh my god ~ Danny wanted to fight out of Don's grasp out of nothing more than fear of his own feelings which were too intense to handle. But when Flack's tongue found his and his head changed angle, his lips were moving faster, Danny could do nothing but shift closer and grab the back of Don's shoulders, feeling the taut, tense muscles there.

Don felt amazing as he kissed Danny. He had no idea he could've felt this way kissing anyone other than Mac. But he could feel Danny's heartbeat through his back, he tasted like beer and something else distinctly Danny, he felt so good. His body, his smell, Don hadn't ever taken notice before now. He moved his hand up to cup Danny's head as he once again changed the angle of the kiss, it was deeper, faster, messier. Danny's lips felt so good under and around his own, so when the smaller man found the will to push him away, he was disappointed.

The two men panted heavily, looking at each other in shock at the passionate outburst that had just happened. The arousal and adrenaline was still pumping through their bodies, and they couldn't speak, only observe. Danny realised that Flack was even sexier when his hair had been dishevelled by him tugging at it. Flack saw the swollen lips on Danny's face, the pink areas around his mouth where Don had practically devoured him.

"What...uh...why...why did you..?"

"I don't know. I wanted to...." Danny swallowed and nodded, tasting Don on his tongue still. They still hadn't moved back to their former positions, and they were both tense, praying that the other wouldn't.

"I...had no idea it'd be like this.."

"Me either, and I'm the one who...y'know..." Don nodded, still shocked.

"Can I kiss you again?" Danny nodded tentatively, eyes wide, and Don moved back closer to him slowly, watching Danny's eyes flutter close as he slid his hands along the base of his neck, kissing him again, softer. It felt like they'd been kissing forever, and at the same time for only a second when Don's phone rang.

"Ugh..." They both groaned and Don rubbed his forehead against the smaller man's gently before looking at the number.

"It's not Mac or the others....ah what the hell." He turned it off and fumbled in Danny's pockets for his, doing the same and then returning to his more gentle onslaught on his senses before he could protest. Not that he was going to.

Danny was the one to deepen the kiss and shifted closer to Flack again, gasping when he grabbed his hips and pulled him on top of him.  
"Ok..?" Flack panted quietly, asking permission. Danny just nodded and tugged his hair when they kissed again, earning a deep, reverberating moan from Don that sent heat through his body. He'd always wondered what his moans would sound like.

Don pulled Danny's chin upwards and kissed down his chin onto his neck, flicking his tongue over the skin, tasting, feeling his pulse. Danny's moans were beautiful and his body even more so when Don pushed his t-shirt up over his head. They looked at each other for a moment, cautious, not wanting to push each other too far, but Danny soon realised it was ok and unbuttoned Flack's shirt slowly, becoming more excited with each one. They pulled that off, and continued kissing, Danny's hands instinctively moved over Flack's muscled shoulders and arms, moving down to the hem of his vest and pulling that off too. Flack became more aroused to see Danny's eyes moving over his body. They'd seen each other in vests before, but not shirtless, and to be able to see and touch, kiss, explore each other at last was a novelty, an extremely exciting and arousing one at that. They kept kissing and Danny moved slightly, knocking his leg against the tent he hadn't realised had risen inside Flack's trousers. He was shocked and saw a flash of panic in his eyes when Danny couldn't help but stare at it.

"We don't have-" Danny cut him off, quickly undoing his belt and his trousers. Don's hips bucked slightly when Danny pushed his hand inside his boxers. Don stopped him and did the same to Danny. He pulled both of their erections out of their underwear and pulled Danny closer to his hips by his ass. Danny gasped at Flack's hands splayed over his hips and ass, pulling him against him. Danny continued to grind on him, Flack still holding his head down so he could keep kissing him deeply. Flack suddenly stopped and grabbed Danny's hips again, flipping them over so that Danny was lying on the couch. He stopped for a moment to look at the man pinned underneath him. His chest was rising, cheeks and lips flushed, eyes half-lidded with arousal, his muscled torso contracted with each shaky breath, and every vain through his large, pink erection was pronounced where he was so hard.

"God...you're so sexy." Danny listened to the words and hips bucked in response. Don holding his hands down either side of his head would have been hot enough, but with his toned body and long erection right above him was almost too much to bear. Danny couldn't help but wonder if he was about to wake up, and that the whole experience would turn out to be a dream he'd had.

"You ok, Messer?" Flack asked huskily, kissing his chest. Danny nodded breathlessly and moved his hands to Don's hair when he slid down his body, kneeling on the end of the couch, ass in the air, lips and tongue working their way down his heated skin until they reached his hips. Danny tried and failed not to buck his hips as Don sucked hickeys onto his naval and hip bones while he pulled his jeans and boxers off. He took Danny's thick member into his mouth in one smooth motion, and Danny cried out at the intensity of it. 

Don was skilled, sucking perfectly whilst rubbing Danny's balls and letting his tongue rub the underside of the heavy erection. He loved the feeling and taste of Danny's cock in his mouth. He knew he was good at giving head, and exercised his talent to the max, relishing in the aroused frown on Danny's face, the way his body arched up off of the couch, his noises, the way he tugged on Don's hair.  
"Oh...stop, stop I'm gonna..." Don quickened his pace and Danny cried out, muscles contracting as he came hard. Don swallowed and sucked slowly, pulling off of his glistening cock with a 'pop.' Danny panted as Don moved back up his body, smiling slightly at his reaction.

"Fuck..." Danny gasped, not caring about his own taste when Don kissed him.

"Your turn." Don smiled and flipped them over again, putting his arms behind his head and raising his hips so Danny could pull the rest of his clothes off too. Seeing Danny, athletic but small, crouched over his cock, pulling it all the way into his mouth and throat, was the hottest thing Don had ever seen. He moaned loudly as Danny deep throated him repeatedly, not gagging once.

"Fuck Messer...oh my god, Danny." Hearing his name on Flack's lips only spurred him on and Danny looked up at him as he sucked him off when one of Don's hands moved under his chin, feeling his cock slipping into his throat.

Don came quickly once he'd seen Danny look up at him, and felt his cock slipping down his throat. Danny swallowed too and sat over his hips, stroking himself down.

"Damn..." Flack mumbled heavily. Danny met his eyes and they both smiled, then erupted with laughter.

"I wasn't expecting that tonight."

"Oh god...me either....where the hell did you learn to do that without gagging?!" Danny grinned mischievously.

"I don't gag much, a natural advantage." Don smiled and pulled him down to kiss him again.

"I had no idea I could feel like this with you...I had no idea I'd feel so...so...amazing." The words, spoken so softly, touched Danny's heart, he hid his emotion well.

"We've been missing out." Danny said in agreement, lying down on Don's outstretched body when he raised an arm up, offering the space.

"Yeah! Damn, all these years." They laughed gently.

"It's weird to think we could've been doing this the whole time...I think I got so distracted by...everything else..that I just took you for granted. I didn't really think about what it could be like."

"Well, I've been thinking about what it could be like, for years, and it still wasn't as good as that." Flack laughed and kissed his head before sitting up, pulling his boxers on. Danny watched him, wondering what would happen next. It'd either be really good, or really bad.

"Why looking so worried, Messer?" Flack teased, leaning down to kiss him again.

"I'm getting more beer." Danny was relieved and pulled his own underwear back on.

They sat up for most of the night talking, laughing. And both men were intensely relieved that it was back to normal, except now, it was even better.

 

"You called a meeting? What about?" Danny asked, the others looked up as Danny and Flack walked into the meeting at the same time.

"Yeah, where were you?"

"Sorry, he crashed out at mine last night. We were...running late." Stella narrowed her eyes, the dynamic was different.

"You both look a lot happier than you did yesterday." She whispered to Flack who just wiggled his eyebrows and smirked before turning to Mac.

"Ok...I called this meeting because Sinclair is getting orders to tighten the budget again. Now, last time...we all helped to keep Adam with us. But now, you're all in the firing line. If I could put my own job on the line for you, I would. But Sinclair is adamant that one of you is going. Flack, this doesn't really apply to you but seeing as you work with us only, you're part of the team and I wanted to keep you in the loop." Flack nodded, shooting a concerned glance at Danny.

"I will do whatever it takes to keep all of you. But it's going to take all of us to band together if this is going to work...no one's safe at this point. Continue with your cases as normal." With that he left, and everyone was left feeling concerned and deflated. They all looked at one another worriedly for a few minutes before leaving for their cases.

"I guess I'll see you later..." Flack whispered to Danny, planting a kiss on his neck as he left. Danny was slightly reassured by that, but was certain that if anyone was going to be fired, it would be him.

He returned to processing evidence with Hawkes like the day before and they worked in silence for over an hour before he spoke.  
"I can't believe this...why do they think they can keep making cuts when we can barely manage with the case load as it is?!"

"I don't know....I don't want anyone to go." Hawkes nodded in agreement.

"Me either." They found the boy's family, they lived uptown. Danny called them and asked the parents to come down to the lab.

"Mr and Mrs Fitch. I'm Danny Messer, I'm a crime scene investigator. Could you follow me, please?" They had questions, but Danny postponed them until they were in a private office.

"We believe your son, Christian, was involved in a homicide yesterday...I'm very sorry for your loss." Their faces contorted in a way that only grief could bring and Danny watched them sadly.

"A-are you sure it's him?"

"We believe it is. I need one of you to ID him...but first, I need to ask you some questions." They nodded weakly.

"Do you know these people?" He passed them the photos of the Dean couple. They both looked at them for several minutes before shaking their heads.

"No, I'm sorry. Who are they? Did they hurt Chris?"

"We don't believe so...they were also killed yesterday. But Christian was in their home....Mr and Mrs Fitch, I have to ask you some...distressing questions." They nodded, clearly expecting the worst.

"There was evidence that Christian was involved in...sexual activity with this couple. Can you explain that? Did he maybe mention them?"

"No...never." His father replied, his mother just cried silently.

"He was only 16....how...how old...were they?"

"Maria Dean was 25, Oliver Dean was 32." She closed her eyes in pain, and her husband squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I'm very sorry you had to find out this way." They nodded.

"Do you think it's possible...that Christian was in a relationship with these two people? Or..that he was involved in some sort of prostitution?"

"No! My son was not a prostitute!!" Danny nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I have to pursue every lead if I'm going to find out what happened to your son." He nodded understandingly.

"Sorry...it's not easy to hear."

"I know, I know. Would you mind if I came back to your house with you? I need to look through Christian's belongings...take his laptop, see if there's any evidence of how he contacted these people." They nodded and left. Danny followed.

The boy's room was a typical boys room, except with a lot more musical instruments.

"He was going to study at Juilliard..." His mother said quietly from the doorway.

"He must've been very talented, then." She nodded with a sad smile.

"He was....he could play so many instruments...he was so smart..." She burst into tears and left the room. Danny sighed and took the kids laptop. When he opened his wardrobe, he found shoebox at the bottom covered in clothes. Inside were about 15 different cell phones.

"What's that?" Danny looked back at the father.

"Did you know he had these?" He showed the man who shook his head.

"Seems we didn't know a lot of things..."

"Sir, don't blame yourself. Teenagers keep things from their parents, and they're getting better at it. Don't beat yourself up." He nodded gratefully and left as well.

Danny documented and bagged all the evidence he found, including several packs of condoms, a tin of cash, and a letter that been given or delivered rather than posted through the mail.

"Here we go." Danny dumped the evidence on the table in front of Hawkes who was finishing up on the clothes.

"Let's get started. What did you find on the clothes?"

"Just a lot of DNA....and dog hair. Did the Fitch's own a cat?"

"No food or water bowls, the Deans didn't own one either. There was a tin of cash, and a years supply of condoms under the kids bed. As well as 13 cell phones in a shoe box in his closet."

"Prostitution?"

"It's looking that way. I got the laptop." Danny plugged it in and hacked into it before looking through the files.

"Man...there are a LOT of nude photos on here...and videos by the looks of it." Hawkes looked at cringed grimly.

"Why does a 16 year-old kid, living in the Upper East Side, already enrolled in Juilliard at 16....need to be a prostitute?"

"Maybe he didn't need to...maybe he wanted to." Hawkes nodded. They looked at his internet history, the most frequented URLs were two chat sites.

He also hacked those passwords, and there were over 50 ongoing chats.  
"Hey Chris...put your can on. Let me see you, baby, I've missed you!" Danny and Hawkes looked at each other as a video chat popped up.  
\- Who are you? - Danny typed.

"What? Chris, quit playing, it's me!"

"Name?"

"Chris...cmon! It's me, Dale!"

"Thank you Dale." Danny said, turning the camera on. The man paled when he realised they were cops.

"I'm not doing anything illegal - where's Chris?"

"Actually you are. Chris is only 16, as his username says, you're only legally allowed to exchange nude pictures and similar illicit materials with someone over 18. You could be charged with posession of indecent images of a child." The man swallowed.

"Oh god...oh god..."

"But maybe we could overlook that if you come down to the station and have a chat about Christian." The man nodded and logged off.

"You think he'll show?"

"You kiddin'? He was about to crap his pants, yeah he'll show." Danny flicked through some of the exchanges.

"Bingo! MarriedCouple25. That must be them." Danny clicked on the conversation and skipped past the photos that had been sent once he'd made a positive ID.

"What did they say?" Hawkes asked as he examined the fibres.

"Small talk...blah blah blah...ages....looks...pictures...oh- here we go..." Danny paused as he found the right messages.  
"So, Christian, our sex life is getting a little tame, even though we've only been married for a couple of years...my husband is bisexual, and I'm open to having another man involved with us, sexually. We love how funny and honest you are, would you consider visiting us one day?" Danny scrolled down.  
"I'd love to visit you and your husband, I'm bisexual too, and you're both beautiful people in every way as far as I can tell. When is good for you..?" He scrolled down again.

"Ok...they met every Thursday at first, then they started meeting on Tuesday's as well." Hawkes sighed.

"Was he meeting other people too?" Danny looked through the messages.

"He's had sex online with lots of people, but it looks like he only met up with the Deans and with a Martin Peterson."

"I'll run his name." Hawkes typed the name into the database.

"That was quick...Martin Peterson, 18 years old, arrested in '01 for distributing cannabis...and for vandalism, indecent exposure, jaywalking, and several drunk and disorderly charges."

"Address?"

"Queens, 164th street. Let's go." They packed up and left. 

"I didn't do shit man..." The skater punk kid sat opposite Danny, trying to look indifferent.

"We're not gonna arrest you, kid. We wanna know about Christian Fitch." His eyes flicked up.

"Don't know any Fitch.."

"You're lying. We've got records of conversations between the two of you. He visited you or you met up several times a week for the last nine months." Martin nodded.

"Somethin' happen to Chris?" Despite his cool exterior, Danny could see the fear in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

"Yeah, Martin. I'm afraid Chris was killed the day before last." He wavered slightly and looked away, fighting away tears.

"That can't be right...." He pulled his ripped sleeves over his hands.

"I'm sorry, Martin. You loved Chris, didn't you?" The boy nodded.

"Chris made me feel safe, he respected me, had faith in me. He loved me....he was the only person who's ever loved me....he told me I could do anything, that it didn't matter where I came from or what stupid shit I've done...." Danny offered a comforting expression.

"I can't believe it...."

"Do you know anyone who might've had a grudge against Christian?"

"I know about the stuff he did online...and how he met up with that married couple. I knew everything about Chris. He ended it with everyone except me and them. I guess that would've pissed a lot of people off. And...obviously his parents didn't know. His brother was homophobic." Danny nodded.

"Thank you. Anyway, thanks for coming down, Martin. You've been helpful. I'm sorry for your loss, and listen. Chris was right about what he told you. It doesn't matter where you come from. Don't lose faith just because he's not here to tell you anymore." Martin sniffed back tears and nodded.

"Thanks, man." He left. Hawkes approached Danny.

"A homophobic brother, eh?"

"Yeah...I didn't know about him, either." Danny headed back to the Fitch household.

"Oh, hello, Detective Messer. Come in." Danny walked past the woman.

"Is your husband around, Mrs Fitch?"

"No, sorry, he's attending to business. He's going to finish up some things then get some time off."

"That's no problem, what about your other son? Leo?" She stiffened and turned around.

"Excuse me?"

"Sit down. I interviewed Chris' boyfriend today..did you know about him?" She looked away.

"I take that as a yes...so did you find out before or after Leo flipped out about his little brother being gay?"

"Leo is a mixed up kid, he's not bad....he just doesn't understand Christian's feelings."

"What happened, Mrs Fitch?"

"Chris told us...me and my husband...and we didn't realise Leo was in the house. He got angry...hit Christian. He tried to find out who this boy was, but couldn't. The next day we broke up a fight between him and Christian because he'd tried to get into Chris' computer...." She broke down in tears.  
"Oh god...I think....I think he may have...hurt those people..."

"Ok...don't worry about it, ma'm. But listen, if you hear from Leo, you absolutely must let me know. If your son has done something...then the best thing he can do is turn himself in. If he's done something and he runs...he's only going to make it worse for himself." She nodded and Danny left.

On his way back through the lab, he saw Sinclair talking to Lindsay. She looked stressed. Oh god, no, not Lindsay.

Danny left begrudgingly to continue with his work, and was concerned when the Chief knocked on the door and walked in.  
"Detective Messer. I think it's time you and me had a conversation." 

Oh god, no, not him.


	18. Chapter 18

Flack couldn't wait to get home that night, shower, and then go to Danny's apartment. The time passed achingly slowly, and by the time he finally knocked on the door, he was jittery with impatience.  
Danny opened the door and flung himself on Flack - just not in the way he expected him to. He was shocked for a moment but then hugged Danny back tightly.  
"Miss me, Messer?"

"Yeah, yeah I did actually." He stepped prep and Don's smile faltered.

"Danny? What's up?"

"Sinclair came to talk to me...I think my job's gonna be cut out." Don staggered at the news and followed him inside. Danny leant against the kitchen counter, biting his nails.

"What did he say?"

"He literally walked in and started talking about all the complaints and 'incidents' I've had. And- and how everyone told Mac not to hire me and maybe I've proved them right-" Flack took hold of Danny when he started to get upset, and tucked his head into his chest as he hugged him.

"I'm sorry." Danny nodded against him.

"I know." It was small and muffled.

"Anything I can do?"

"Not really, but thanks." Danny answered as Don steered him to the couch and made him sit down.

"Sure there's nothing? No way I could make you feel better?" Danny sighed as he worked the tension out of his shoulders.

"Maybe you might be able to help." He leant his head back and smiled at Don.

"Maybe I might..? Are you teasin' me, Messer?" He laughed and pulled Flack down to his lips by his t-shirt.

They woke up in the middle of the night and did it again. Never moving past blow jobs, but it was still amazing.

"So last night was fun.." Danny smiled at his breakfast as Don kissed his shoulders.

"Sure was."

"How you feelin'? Better?"

"Yes. Thank you." He was caught off guard when Flack kissed him, tongue working against his again in the way that made his toes curl.

"Stop- you'll get me all hot again."

"Maybe that's what I'm trying to do."

"Did you not get enough last night?!"

"Never enough of Danny Messer."

"Well, we had to go to work soon, so-"

"What's more important right now? Work, or moi?" Flack spun him round and winked. Danny's expression clouded and Flack sighed.

"Sorry, Danny. I didn't think-"

"Don't worry. Thanks for staying - you cheered me up." Don smiled and let Danny leave to get dressed.

They turned up and Mac called Danny into his office. Don wanted to kiss him, reassure him, instead he was forced to settle for patting his shoulder pathetically.  
"Mac, look, I just wanna say, I appreciate you did everything you could, I know you would have. And I also-"

"Danny-"

"Wait. I also appreciate you giving me this chance when I know everyone else opposed hiring me-"

"Danny!"

"And I've really enjoyed these past few years, I know that I've made mistakes, but I've learnt so much-"

"Danny, shut up!" Danny frowned, slightly breathless.

"You're not getting laid off." Danny gaped at his boss.

"What?"

"I'm not firing you. I did some digging...found out some things and called Sinclair......lets just say, we're all safe again for the time being." Danny was so excited he rushed around and shook Mac's hand and hugged him briefly. Mac laughed at him and clapped his back, it was then that Danny remembered Flack's accidental confession the previous night. He took a step back, still grinning.

"Wow! Thank god....lets not tell anyone about me babbling back there..?" Mac laughed and nodded.

"You getting all emotional stays between us, don't worry." Danny smiled, suddenly wishing he could tell Mac that he knew. He was close to saying it when Mac stood and pulled on his jacket.

"Busy?"

"I told everyone to meet in the conference room. I thought I'd talk to you first because I know Sinclair put heat on you yesterday." Mac patted his shoulder and they left, Flack in tow.

"I'm not getting fired."

"Thank god! Brilliant!" Flack shook his hand, the gesture felt alien, to both of them, but it got the message across.

Mac and Stella fetched coffee after the meeting. All he could think about was Danny's reaction. He'd been so adorable at first, then he'd hugged Mac and simply made him fall more in love with him than ever. Mac tried not to think about the feel ofDanny's back and arms under his hands, but failed. His smell was an intoxicating mix of cologne and skin.  
"Mac..?" Stella drew out the name, waving in front of his face.

"Sorry, Stella. What were you saying?"

"Just your name, like ten times. You feelin' ok?" Mac nodded.

"I'm good. Sorry."

"Thinking about this..?" She gestured towards the building.

"Uh...yeah..I think I can only dig up so much dirt on Sinclair before he returns the favour." She narrowed her eyes but nodded. Mac knew she wasn't buying it, and Stella knew that Mac could see she wasn't convinced. But they settled for it anyway.

Flack cursed quietly when he pulled another case at 8PM. He wouldn't be seeing Danny that night, and he had hoped that it would be the night they'd finally progress in their sexual activity. So, he was forced to swallow his libido and frustration, and attend to a dead body that had been found hanging from the top of the Empire State Building. King Kong style.

When he finally reached home - once Mac had sent him there the next day - he collapsed in bed, exhausted.

~ "It's Viagra, I promise. Take it. You trust me, right?" Flack nodded and swallowed the pill. The other men were there, then the team burst in....and stood. They watched.  
"He.....hel-...help...Danny..?" His lover shook his head.  
"You got yourself into this one, Flack. You can't keep using me."  
"M...Mac??"  
"You're weak. You're pathetic...not like Danny." Mac kissed Danny and Flack passed out from the pain behind him. ~

Flack shot upright, heart pounding. He looked at the clock, it was only 11:30am. He'd been asleep for an hour and a half.

He couldn't go back to sleep after that.

"Woah...Don, you look like crap."

"Thanks Adam." He shook his head.

"I didn't mean it like that- it's just, uh, you look, y'know, tired."

"I am tired." He nodded in agreement and headed towards his counselling appointment. He almost fell asleep in the waiting room.

"Ah, Don. How are you today?"

"Ok, thanks." 

"Having trouble sleeping?" Flack sighed and nodded.

"Only my third nightmare since it happened...I thought they'd stopped." She nodded.

"I can prescribe you sleeping pills, but I think the best and healthiest way to resolve these nightmares would be to discuss them?" Flack nodded, too weary too argue.

Danny saw Flack walk out of the counsellor's office with a devastated expression. He caught up to him quickly.  
"Hey, you ok?" Don turned and tried a weak smile, he reached out and adjusted Danny's jacket collar - it was the only way he could touch him in the moment without giving their new relationship status away. Danny bit his lip, wishing he could do something to help.

Instead, he had to settle for watching Flack walk away, clearly grieved.

"Flack!" He turned when he exited the building to see his sister running towards him, grin on her face.

"Sam...I'm not in the mood today." He frowned when she threw herself on him, hugging him tightly like she used to when they were little. He patted her back gently before taking a step back.

"Donny - you ok?" She looked concerned as she held onto his arms, leaning back to look at him.

"I'm fine, Sam. What did you do this time?"

"I didn't. I came to tell you I went to rehab...and I'm going to meetings." He met her eyes at long last.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm getting my life back, Don. I understand now what a bad place I got myself into. I know I have a problem." He nodded. He was too weary to deal with his sister's false promises, but each time it seemed she was sorting herself out, he couldn't help but fall for it.

"Good for you."

"Don, I mean it. I've been going to these meetings for a few months now. It's going well. I got a different job, I'm working at a pet store and a clothing store instead of the bar." He nodded.

"That's good. Really good."

"Donny...what's wrong? You look...has someone died?"

"No...I just....am having a bad day." He struggled to keep his composure.

"Come get lunch with me?"

"No...thanks, though."

"Ok, coffee?"

"I need to go home, Sam." The shake in his voice both convinced her to leave, and at the same time made her want to stay even more. She nodded hesitantly and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Don. If you need me, call."

"Same to you. Look after yourself - keep up the good work, Sammy." She smiled a bright smile, and left him.

Don's mood blackened the closer he got to the Empire State Building.


	19. Chapter 19

"Taylor."

"We've got a 419, Sean Hanson."

"Sean Hanson? As in-"

"As in dealer Sean Hanson...yeah."

"Where are you?"

"His last known hangout, the old Nike factory by the docks."

"I'll be there with Stella ASAP." Flack hung up and sighed, looking around the dark warehouse. Being only a few streets away from where he'd been raped....it made him feel uneasy to say the least. His heart began to pound louder and louder, but it could have simply been the deafening silence and stillness from the corpse only a few feet away from him. Flack wanted to climb out of his own body as his panicked heartbeat overtook his senses.

"Mac - where's Don, again?"

"The old Nike factory near the docks."

"The docks?!" Mac looked at her as he swerved around traffic.

"I know. But all we can do is get there as quickly as possible, he can't leave the body." Stella nodded grimly.

Flack turned towards the river, trying and failing to breathe normally. Trying and failing not to picture what had happened.  
Mac cursed and held down the horn as traffic blocked their path to Don.

"Call Flack, make sure he's alright."

"He's not answering..." The two detectives shared a concerned glance and waited impatiently for the traffic to clear.

"He shouldn't be working."

"He'd be fine if the scene wasn't at the docks, and you know it. I think Danny mentioned something about him having a rough counselling session. So he was already sore from this morning." Mac nodded and swerved through the cars as they began to move.

Flack cursed when he realised he'd missed a call from Stella. He drew his gun and jumped when he heard a noise. He squinted at the dark corners, trying to make out any figures lurking there. He stood for ten minutes, turning from corner to corner, until he was satisfied the noise hadn't come from a person. He replaced the gun in his holster and tried to fight down his fear, loosening his tie.

"Come on- come on!!!" Stella swallowed nervously as she tried to ring Flack again.

"Flack."

"Thank god - are you ok?"

".....there's no trouble here."

"I didn't ask that."

"I'm dealin' with it, Stel." He hung up. She looked at Mac and shook her head worriedly.

Flack paced around in agitation as he waited. When he heard the screech of tyres and saw his colleagues jog into the building, he collapsed against the cold metal wall. Mac approached him quickly.  
"You alright?" Flack nodded breathlessly and Mac pulled him out of the warehouse and out into the sunlight. His forehead and hands were glistening with sweat that had gone cold, he had goosebumps, and he was struggling to breathe.

"Sit here." Flack did as he was told. He wanted to push Mac away and use him for comfort at the same time. When Mac sat next to him and patted his back gently, he opted for the second, and healthier option. He leant on his hands and used Mac's hand as a focus to ground himself. Stella knelt in front of him.

"What happened, Flack?" Flack's initial reaction to the situation was to push them and his feelings away, to swallow his fear as he had been doing since that night. As the two of them looked at him, frightened, he realised how much they cared.

"I couldn't...stop seeing it. I could feel...their hands on me. I could feel..." He broke down in tears and Stella leant forwards to hug him. She looked at Mac, they were both shocked and heartbroken. Donald Flack Jr. had never cried like that in the whole time they'd known him. People he knew had died, horrible things had happened to him, he'd felt pain like no other, he'd cried before, but not once had he ever cried the heart-wrenching, shaky, stammering sobs that came from him then. Mac moved his hand across Flack's shoulders to partially hug him from the side.

"We're all here, Flack. We'll get through this together." Flack's breaths eventually evened out as he stopped crying, comforted by his friends. Stella moved to sit next to him, holding his hand, and Mac left his hand on Flack's shoulder.

"How have you been, Flack? I mean, really?" Stella asked quietly.

"Haven't been sleeping too g-great...nightmares. I think today was just....one thing after another, y'know?" Mac nodded understandingly. Flack breathed in shakily and exhaled hard, regaining his composure slowly.

"I'm sorry about-"

"If you apologise, I'll shoot you." Flack actually laughed and smiled gently at Mac. He nodded.

"That's better." Stella watched the two of them with a smile on her face. She knew how Flack felt, and she knew that inside Mac somewhere was the potential to love again. She just didn't know if he could love Flack, or any man, in that way. They did look good together, though.

The other officers and the M.E. showed up, Flack excused himself - after Mac ordered him to go home - and caught up on some much-needed sleep. However, this still didn't happen, and instead, Don spent the rest of the day tossing and turning in his bed, occasionally falling asleep only to wake up to more nightmares.

He was relieved when an exhausted Danny arrived on his doorstep with pizzas.  
"I heard."

"I bet you did. I bet the officers who responded afterwards told everyone they could-"

"No- no one knows apart from me, Stella told me. I was worried, so.." He gestured to the pizzas and set them aside to hug Don.

"I wanted to do this earlier."

"Me too."

"You look exhausted."

"You don't look so good, either."

"Pizza, shower, sleep?"

"Sounds perfect." Don kissed Danny gently, enjoying how he kissed him back slowly, not pushing or expecting anything too great from him.

They did as planned, when it came to sleeping, Danny wasn't sure how he should lie. He didn't like to cuddle up to Don in case he looked clingy, but if that's what the situation called for, he didn't want to sit back by himself and look cold, either.  
So when he lied down and Don did the same, wrapping his long arms around him and pulling him closer, Danny smiled to himself; relieved.  
He fell asleep with Don's nose buried in his neck and his breath ghosting over his skin.

At 2am Danny awoke with a start, disorientated, he looked around to see Don thrashing around in the throes of a nightmare.  
"Don, Don - it's me, Danny. Wake up." Don's eyes flew open and Danny crouched over him as he hugged him, hating the way his heart pounded against his ribcage.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." Don sighed against his chest.

In the morning, Mac told Don to stay as far away from the Sean Hanson case as possible. It meant that he was left twiddling his thumbs and organising his chaotic desk until a new case came in. He'd never felt more inadequate.

"Don, you look troubled." Sarah Cunningham seemed genuinely concerned.

"I can't sleep anymore...I'm screwing up a great relationship, and I can't even do my job properly. I guess you could say I'm troubled."

"A relationship?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise....were you in this relationship before the events of last Friday night?" Don shook his head.

"No, it only started like a few days ago. Why?" He frowned at the shock on her face.

"...do you think that wise? Given the circumstances?"

"Yeah...why?"

"It seems a little sudden, don't you think?"

"No. He's my best friend-" Flack cut himself off and cursed himself for giving it away. Sarah looked at him.

"Anything you say here is confidential - you know that."

"Ok...well, he's my best friend. I trust him more than anyone. He makes me feel good."

"Well that's good. That's really good. But are you emotionally ready to take on a new, sexual relationship?"

"Well....I didn't really think about it...." She saw the concern crossing his face.

"I don't want to make you feel uncertain, Don. But maybe you should really think this through before you...progress?"

"You mean sexually?"

"I mean both physically and emotionally." Don sighed.

"I can't stop it now. Like I said he's my best friend. I know he'd never hurt me."

"How did the relationship start?"

"....he told me he was in love with me when he was drunk. The next night we hung out, to try and not let things get awkward...and...well.."

"So he confessed his feelings...and now you're dating him?"

"When you say it like that it sounds bad-"

"Are you sure it isn't bad? Are you sure you're not finding comfort in his presence in your life rather than exploring a new level of your relationship?"

".......well.... I'm crazy about him. And now that he's got sex appeal too, he's just...mind blowing." She smiled gently.

"Ok. We can talk about that more in our next appointment. So, is there anything you'd like to talk to me about?"


	20. Chapter 20

Don didn't know if his counselling sessions had been a good idea after all. 

Since he'd been going, he'd been more depressed than before - about everything in his life, not just the incident - he'd started having nightmares. And now, he'd started to question his relationship with Danny.

Danny was the sweetest, most genuine man Don had ever met. And ever since the counsellor had planted the seed of doubt in his mind, he'd had to find excuses for why he couldn't meet him. He felt guilty, he felt awkward. But most of all, when he crossed paths with Danny in the lab one day and the smaller man kissed him quickly when he thought no one was watching: Don saw Mac. And the pain that crossed his eyes was crippling.

"Shit." Don leant against the wall and Danny turned to see Mac.

"Oh no.....well...maybe this is a good thing, right? I mean, Stella sort of knows, now Mac knows, everyone can..." Danny kept talking, but Flack could barely hear him over the guilt that washed through his mind. The pain in Mac's eyes was something Flack had hoped never to see, knowing he was almost the sole cause of that pain was too much to bear. He turned and walked away before Danny had finished talking.

"Flack! FLACK!" He kept walking.

When Mac saw Danny and Flack talking, he didn't think anything of it, except for noting that Don looked exhausted and tense. When Danny stretched up and kissed him, Mac's world stopped turning for several seconds. How was that possible? They were best friends!

Flack saw him and turned away from Danny. He and Mac looked at each other for several moments, Mac could see Danny talking animatedly. But he could see the guilt on Don's face.

Don wouldn't be standing there looking like he'd just been caught doing something terrible, he wouldn't look so guilty unless....he knew. Don had known about his feelings for Danny...and he'd clearly slept with him anyway. That's what hurt the most, after Stella - maybe before - Flack was his closest friend and confidant on the team. And he'd done that to him. Flack turned away from Danny and left. Mac heard him shout after him, but it was almost as if Flack hadn't even heard.

Mac sat down slowly. Everything had changed, now. Everything.

"Hey Mac. Remember that case we solved a few years back where the woman killed her husband for having an affair?" Mac looked up at Hawkes, slightly dazed, and nodded.

"Well, Fiona Waters was put on death row. She called here, asked for me, and told me she didn't kill her husband. She told me her son did it. Did you even know she had a son?" Mac frowned, attention now mostly caught by the case.

"No...I didn't know that."

"She said he did it. Are we taking this seriously?"

"We always take these things seriously. Let's go." Hawkes frowned at him.

"You ok, Mac?"

"I'm fantastic." He replied as he followed Hawkes out.

Mac's attention was corrupted several times over the course of that day. Hawkes and Stella noticed. Stella tried, in vain, three times to talk to Mac about it. He wouldn't say anything.  
"There's something wrong. And I'm not leaving until you talk to me about it." Mac looked up at her that night, everyone else had gone home.

"I told you! I'm-"

"If you say the word fine one more time I'm going to scream. It's Danny, isn't it?" Mac looked at her incredulously.

"Yes, I know! Okay? I know. Is it Don?"

"You knew they were together?" Shock crossed her face.

"They're together?!"

"Yeah....well...I saw...Danny kissed him earlier, so..."

"Oh no. Mac I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. I don't care that much about that. It wouldn't be a problem...but Flack knew how I felt. And he....went for it anyway."

"I....Mac, this is gonna sound awful. But I don't think it's as bad as you think it is...?"

"What?" He snapped. Angry now.

"I mean there's things you don't know! And I can't tell you because-" Mac remembered a previous conversation.

"You'd violate your friendship with Flack. Is this something to do with what you were talking to Lindsay about that day? Before all this happened with Flack?" She nodded.

"You heard us."

"Yeah....I need to talk to Flack, don't I?" She nodded.

"I know when I see him I'm gonna want to kill him." She swallowed.

"Try to keep your temper until he's told you everything." She left after kissing his cheek.

Mac didn't talk to Flack, instead he went to play a set with his band mates at a local bar.

Flack sat awake all night, still in his work clothes.

Danny hung out with Lindsay in a bid to cheer himself up.

 

The next day, when there was a hostage situation, with their only suspect's life in danger - it was all hands on deck. And the three detectives were forced to put their differences - or similarities - behind them.  
Flack was told to be the negotiator, while the others waited to storm in with the SWAT team.  
"Come on Daniels, I don't wanna be here till my next birthday. I'm sure you don't, either."

"So give me what I want!!"

"What exactly is that?"

"I want the three mil. in here, now."

"Come on, man. You know that kinda money takes time to bring in. Everyone's put a rush on it. So I've fulfilled your request. I want you to do a little something for me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I want you to let the two kids out."

"No way, man. No way. They're the biggest selling point, here."

"Ok, just one, then."

"No."

"Then I'm gonna have to put a hold on that cash."

"Then how about I blow their god damn heads off for the cameras?!?" Flack heard the little girl scream.

"Alright. Alright. I hear you, but if you kill them, then you've got no point of negotiation, we can storm the building and get you - then you're on five murder charges plus intent to harm, blackmail, holding hostages...blah-blah-blah..."

"So get the money, and none of that has to happen."

"I told you, it'll be about an hour yet. Look, Daniels. I know you've got a kid. I know he loves you - so you must be a pretty decent father." There was nothing but silence from the other line.

"So can you do me a favour, and let me talk to one of the kids?" More silence. Then, Flack heard Daniels order someone to the phone. Flack could hear a trembling, shaky sobbing.

"Hello?"

"H-h-hello. Please help us-"

"Shhh, look. I know you're scared - whats your name, kid?"

"F-Fred."

"Ok, look Fred, I know it's scary but I swear on my mother's life we are going to get you and your family out of there - ok? Can you trust me? Try to remember my promise, ok?"

"O-ok."

"Good. Good man. Now listen, are you the oldest, youngest, what?"

"I'm the middle child."

"The middle, that's good. Good work, now, is anyone in your family hurt?"

"Y-yeah. He beat up my dad-" The kid gasped as he was yanked away from the walkie-talkie by the suspect.

"What is it with you people?! You always gotta interfere."

"What can I say - it's the job."

The hostage situation lasted 19 hours. It was one of the longest, most arduous and most terrifying ones Flack and the rest of the team had ever had the displeasure of being involved in.

 

The three children all got out safely. He let them go after a lot of persuasion from Flack.

There was then a terrifying shootouts in which the mother nearly - but thankfully didn't - lose her unborn child. And the father was taken to hospital for treatment after the severe beating he'd undergone. Daniels was arrested.

The oldest child, Tiny Martinez, 19, was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Sean Hanson.

Lindsay had been shot, but thankfully she'd managed to dodge most of it and it formed a deep cut on the outside of her left forearm. And a bullet fragment had sliced a nasty gash in Mac's cheek.   
"Good work, guys. You two ok?" Flack checked on them and they both nodded, having undergone worse in their experiences of the line of duty.

"We all need to go home and try to sleep - this was a long ride." Stella instructed, and one by one, everyone left or was taken to hospital.

Mac, Danny, and Flack were left sitting next to the company SUV, not knowing what to say. Sitting on the edge of the open trunk, staring ahead. Exhaustion meant none of them were angry, however there were a lot of unspoken truths and emotional hurt in the air.  
"How long have you two...?" Mac trailed off, adjusting the ice-pack on his face.

"Only a few days." Mac nodded, somewhat relieved.

"So....uh....Flack accidentally told me about your feelings." Mac sighed heavily at Danny's confession.

"Sorry, Mac." Flack muttered quietly.

"It's...ok. I guess...I guess it was going to happen anyway. Danny, I don't really know what to say." Danny nodded, and the tense silence remained until Flack broke it loudly.

"Man...when did this all get so damn...crap?! I mean, you're in love with Danny, Danny's in love with me, and.....I'm in love with you, Mac....it's just...crap." Mac looked up at Don in utter shock.

"What are you saying?"

"I've sorta been in love with you for....years, now." Mac couldn't compose himself. Don's face softened into a sad smile, his nerves too shot with exhaustion to be wound up.

"You had no idea, did you?"

"...I...no. No, no I didn't...now I understand why Stella asked me not to get angry with you...Flack I'm sorry-"

"Don't be, but for the record - Mac, Danny, I'm sorry."

"And Mac, I'm sorry too." Danny said, nudging his shoulder into Mac's gently. They all sighed, one by one, and then looked at each other, and maybe it was their fatigue, near death experience, relief at finally getting the truth out....but when they looked at each other they all started to laugh.

"We're going to need to talk about this soon, but for now...just go to sleep, good work today." Mac said, standing up tiredly. The others followed suit and drove each other home. Mac watched the other men drive away, and wondered how he managed to get himself romantically entangled with two young, handsome men. Two.

Danny and Flack went home together after Danny had picked up some things from his place.  
"I can't believe we just got it all out there...felt good, right?" Don nodded in agreement.

"Definitely....now, you hungry? I'm starving."

"Didn't you order takeout on our way here?"

"Yeah, but I could eat something before that gets here."

"No, I know you, eyes bigger than your belly, man. If you eat you won't eat the Chinese - it sounded like you ordered loads!"

"Hey, I'm makin' up for 19 hours of not eating, Danny. You underestimate me." Danny laughed and nudged Flack in a similar way he'd done to Mac earlier.

"Are we cool now? Now that Mac knows? Because...you were avoiding me before he saw us.." Flack sighed inwardly at Danny's small voice.

"Yeah...I'm sorry. It's just that damn counsellor made me feel guilty for dating you...and like it..I don't know, made me uncomfortable."

"So you're uncomfortable around me now? Great. Great-" Flack grabbed Danny's chin and pulled him towards him.

"All I know is you make me feel better...you make me happy. I don't care what anyone else thinks." He kissed him, feeling Danny's smile. Danny sat on his lap as they kissed.

"Don't turn me on before the food gets here, Messer."

"You choosin' food over me, Flack?"

"No, but I am very hungry...and I don't want to give the delivery guy a show." Danny laughed and hugged him happily, then in the silence came a muffled remark from the smaller man that had them both in fits of laughter:

"I don't know...I think we'd be pretty hot."


	21. Chapter 21

Don's nerves were on fire when Danny pulled off his engorged cock before he could orgasm.  
"I'd rather...you came..somewhere else." Danny explained gently in between kisses.

"Wha-oh..." Don's body suddenly froze up in a sharp jolt of fear when he realised Danny was talking about sex. Actual sex. The type of sex they hadn't had yet. Danny saw it happen and hung his head in shame.

"Flack I'm sorry."

"No, no...I'm sorry...sorry." Flack stood up quickly and went to the bathroom, leaving Danny desperate and guilty at the same time.

When he returned, he had the same, harrowing expression that had been on his face a couple of days earlier when he'd left the counselling session. Danny hugged him tightly, it only made Don feel more embarrassed.  
"We need to get some sleep - it's almost 1am." Danny nodded and they climbed back into the bed, only this time they went to sleep.

The next day, neither of them tried to talk about what had happened the previous night, but when they got to the office, Mac could tell something was wrong. Something else had happened after the three of them had parted ways. He could tell.

So it was up to him to make things right.

"Can I see you two, please?" He gestured to his office and they followed him inside.

"Everything...alright?" They both nodded.

"You're terrible liars." Don covered his face with a hand wearily.

"It's my problem, Mac. Don't worry about it."

"Hey- no, come on Flack this isn't on you-" Flack interrupted Danny in embarrassment.

"Just be quiet, Danny. Please." Mac watched the tense exchange in concern.

"I am not talking to you about this. Now what did you wanna see us about?"

"What do you think, Flack?" Mac asked incredulously, sighing and sitting down.

"I've been thinking about it all night..how...complicated..it all is. And I think it's going to get more difficult for the three of us as we continue to work together." They nodded.

"But I don't know what to do about it. I want to find a solution because if we don't we're going to break up the team." Flack's head was still in his hand and he sighed wearily.

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this, Mac."

"Even if you didn't...feel, about me, the-uh, way you do, then I'd still be involved." He gestured to Danny and Flack nodded.

"So what are we gonna do?" Danny asked both of them.

"I don't know." Mac confessed.  
"...but start thinking. Because things are going to get messy very quickly, otherwise. Now, get back to work." He said with a joking smile and the two younger men left. Mac watched them leave, they were so different, in every way - only linked by their bravery and sense of humour - and yet they fitted together so perfectly. If only he wasn't in love with Danny, and Flack wasn't in love with him, everything would be great for them. Realising that you were the burden in any situation wasn't easy, and it wasn't easy for Mac, either.

"What you got on now?"

"Counselling. I booked an extra appointment." He looked sideways at Danny and fought the urge to kiss him as he left.

"Don! Hello, this is a surprise - you booked an extra appointment?"

"Hi Sarah. Yeah...I had an incident last night." Sarah nodded for him to explain.

"I couldn't....I mean...my...uh- boyfriend and I were...fooling around...and I couldn't...you know..."

"Become sexually intimate?"

"Well...we kinda already have...but we've never gone- uh, y'know, all the way..." Sarah nodded.

"Well that's very understandable, considering what you went through. Were you scared of your boyfriend? The situation? How you felt?"

"No, no, I'm not scared of Danny - he'd never hurt me, ever. But...it was the situation. It just made me remember...and I freaked out."

"Did you tell him that?"

"No....I just need to know how long I'm gonna be like this."

"There's no one period of time, or way of dealing with these things. But I think a good way to deal with this would be alongside your partner. The two of you could try talking openly and honestly about the problems, your feelings, and you can help to move past them together." Flack nodded slowly.

"I can try that." She nodded.

"Good. So, how've you been sleeping?"

"Better, I still have nightmares, but they're getting less frequent." Sarah smiled.

"That must be a relief."

"It is, it really is...."

"I have a feeling there's something you want to talk to me about? And you're not saying?" Flack nodded guiltily.

"Umm....well, there is. But it's not related to the incident at all..it's more to do with my relationship."

"I don't mind. We can talk about anything while you're in here, Don. Getting things off your chest will help relieve pressure on your other feelings."


	22. Chapter 22

"Danny?" Danny turned around in the bodega he was in, to see a tall man with long brown hair.

"Uh, yeah..yeah that's me."

"Danny Messer?"

"Do I know you, or are you just really good at guessing stuff?"

"You don't remember me? Come on man, first year of college - we were both in the baseball team?" Recollection stirred in Danny's mind as he looked at the man's face.

"I uh- I used to have blonde, gelled hair?"

"Oh! Oh- wait I remember you! Yeah, yeah, you're uh-....uh- Seth McCallen?"

"Yes! Messer - how you doing, man? I heard you got your badge. Congratulations. How's it going?" He asked as they shook hands.

"Yeah it's good, it's good. I think this was always my callin' really, you still playing baseball?"

"Yeah, but not professional - I switched to surfing a few years back, I do that pro level now."

"Nice, nice! You still keep in touch with any of the other boys?"

"Yeah- only Richardson though - you remember him?"

"Mikey? Of course, man. Wow it's so weird we bumped into each other! Good to see you, Seth."

"Yeah you too - look, here's my number.....call me, we should get together and have some beers some time and catch up properly!"

"Yeah, yeah I'll do that. Sounds good, see you round, Seth."

"Later, Danny!" They gave a quick wave to each other and Danny tucked the card into his back pocket and headed home with a smile on his face.

When he'd had a shower and got changed, his thoughts turned back to several mornings previous. He let himself get carried away with Flack, he always had, and it had hurt him. Danny couldn't shake the guilt he felt for that, especially as the other man had been avoiding him like the plague since then.

 

"Don, sweetie, you in there? Don...please open the door. I managed to catch the door after someone else came in....Don? I'm sober!" Flack leant against the doorframe and debated wether or not to answer it. Samantha's voice continued to call through the wood until she was certain he wasn't home. She left. He sank down to the floor, unable to suppress his tears now that he was alone.

He was broken, he was dirty, and tainted. Their sweat still dripped onto his skin, their hands on his body, greedy, vile, their moans still sounded in his ears. And he couldn't escape them.

He never would.

Mac stood out on his balcony and tried to block out the useless, frustrating thoughts of a possible solution. It was impossible, there was no way he could see how to fix it. No way to relieve the awkwardness and tension between them. It was odd though, because Mac - and he knew it was happening to the other two men - felt an odd sense of longing. He wanted more than anything to be closer to the other men - even Flack - but he didn't know in what way. It was singlehandedly the most frustrating situation Mac had ever been involved in, and he wanted to just step out of it and detach himself, but he couldn't.

So he went out to a bar, and cringed when he saw Danny slumped over a glass, and even more when Danny looked up and saw him.  
"Oh...hey, Mac. How's- how's it going?"

"Don't you think you've had enough?" Danny nodded and ordered another drink.

"You drink too much."

"Can you blame me?" Mac shook his head.

"No. What's wrong?" Danny leant heavily on the table. 

"I'm just...stupid. I should've known it was a bad idea, I should've known! But at the beginning it was good, it was going...well....and now it's all just..."

"I take it you're talking about Flack?" Danny nodded.

"What's the problem?"

"He just....those bastards broke him the night they raped him....and its screwing us up, too." Mac nodded.

"I'm sorry, Danny."

"How can you be so damn nice?! When you..."

"When I have feelings for you? I don't know. I'm used to knowing you don't feel the same, I guess. Like Flack with me." Danny exhaled sharply.

"Yeah right. He's not used to you not loving him...I'll tell you that right now. He loves you...like he did at the beginning...." The unspoken words that Mac was another obstacle in their relationship wasn't subtle at all, and Mac sighed guiltily.

"I'm sorry Danny. But I can't do-"

"I know you can't, I'm sorry." Mac swallowed as Danny put his hands on Mac's shoulders and neck as he spoke, he really was tipsy.

"...I just...I just feel....I...I feel...." Danny watched as Mac's eyes flickered down to his lips and back up again. It was strange, to look at someone so differently because you knew how they felt about you. Danny sighed and leant against Mac's shoulder.

"I'm sorry...I drank to much...sayin' some crazy things...." Mac patted his back gently.

"Don't worry about it. I know what you mean. I've been driving myself crazy, thinking that there might've been a solution to this...it's pretty clear there's not." He finished off his beer and stood up.

"I'm taking you home, come on." Danny didn't argue and walked with Mac to his apartment.

"Have another beer...I kinda stopped you." He closed the door behind Mac and the older man began to feel uncomfortable in the atmosphere that even Danny wasn't oblivious to.

"I should g-" Danny suddenly leant up and pulled Mac down to him. Hurt shot through Mac as he pushed Danny away.

"This...this isn't a good idea, Danny."

"Why not? You know I love you-"

"Not in the way you love Flack. So...this isn't a good idea. Especially not now that you two are dating, Danny." Danny's hands were still hot on his neck.

"I know but I feel...like I want you...and its strange because I've never thought that before..." Mac sighed.  
"I'm not just bein' drunk and stupid, Mac. Are you seriously tellin' me that you don't feel that way about Flack?" Mac looked at the blonde incredulously. His stare was surprisingly steady and fierce on Mac's eyes.

"I've seen you steal glances at him when you think we can't see you. You're looking at him differently, too...aren't you?" Mac looked away and Danny pulled his chin back towards him.

"You...like him, too, don't you?" Mac fought against the sensations of Danny being so close to him, pressed up against him, hands and breath on his neck. He lost the fight.

"Stop it, Danny."

"Why?"

"Because....I'm going to do something that I'll regret."

"That's the thing, though....you know you won't regret it..and that's why you're scared-" Mac pulled Danny into a crushing kiss that seared his senses. Danny kissed him back hard, gasping as Mac pushed him up against the kitchen counter. He hopped onto it neatly and wrapped his legs around Mac's.

It took every part - and more besides - of Mac's determination and self-control to push Danny away and take a step back. He looked away, trying to gather his cracked composure. 

"I'm leaving-"

"Yeah....yeah that's probably a good idea...." They looked at one another for a moment, guilt and heat in equal measure in both their eyes. Mac left without another word, and Danny groaned into his hands, thoughts of Flack in his mind.


	23. Chapter 23

"Sam?"

"Don! Thank God - how are you?"

"....I'm not doin' so good, sis, I think I need your help..."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes, don't go anywhere." Flack nodded at the phone and waited for his sister to arrive. When she did, he was relieved to have someone hug him, tell him that they were there for him and that he was going to be okay. The certainty in his sister's voice let him accept her help and be glad of it. He noticed the dark bags under her eyes had gone, and there was finally some colour to her cheeks.

"You look good, Sammy."

"Thanks, enough about me though...tell me everything, Don. What's wrong?"

Danny hesitated around the corner from Mac's office for three quarters of an hour before he plucked up the courage to walk in. When he did, his boss wasn't there. Feeling ridiculous and foolish, Danny left only to bump into Flack who looked exhausted. Even worse than before.

"Flack! Hey.....I-uh- how are you?" Flack frowned.

"I'm fine. You ok?"

"Yeah! I'm great, why wouldn't I be?"

"You tell me. What's up?" Danny opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, when Mac interrupted them.

"Danny, Flack. Let's talk." They followed him inside and Danny gestured for Mac to stop talking.

"Flack, I need to tell you something."

"What? What is it?"

"I.....did something stupid......I...I sorta...I kissed Mac last night." Don was completely motionless as the words sunk in.

"Well, he was drunk." Mac offered. The words had little to no comforting effect on Flack whose blood roared in his ears.

Danny flinched as the tall man rose from his chair suddenly and left the office. Long legs creating short work of the distance to the elevators. He looked at Mac who gestured for him to follow.

"The three of us can't sort this out until your relationship is back on track. Go." Danny ran.

He caught up to Don several blocks away.  
"Flack! Please, wait! Wait! Dammit just stop already!" He got in front of the detective and pushed him to stop him in his very angry tracks. Don was silent, and Danny wished he would say something.

"I wasn't thinking straight, I don't know how to explain this but I just...I wanted it at the time. I did. But I love you, I always have, and I was upset and Mac was there and I wanted him. I'm sorry, but that's the absolute honest truth." Don's gaze was terrifying, terrifying because it was dead. It was so blank, he almost looked bored. And Danny didn't know what to do.

"Don? Say something, please?"

"What? What am I meant to say?" Danny shrugged sadly.

"I thought you would be the one person that would never, ever, ever hurt me. Now get the hell outta my way-"

"I wouldn't! Not...intentionally...I wasn't thinking at the time, I was just depressed and drunk and weak-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Danny. Now move-" Danny pushed him back when he tried to shove his way past him again.

"No! Look, we were having problems and I didn't know what to do-"

"You mean I can't have sex at the moment, so you rushed into the first guy you saw!"

"No! That's not fair- anyway, you're not angry about what I did - you're angry that I got to Mac first!" Don fought the growing urge to pull his arm back and slam his clenched fist into the middle of Danny's face.

"How dare you. I am angry because you cheated on me with Mac. I'm angry with him too, don't get me wrong, but you...you really crossed the line-"

"Oh please, you always loved him. I was just easier to get to than him." Danny wished he could pull the angry statement back into his mouth as hurt flashed across Don's angry eyes.

"No. I love you too. At least, I do now. And I wish I didn't." Danny stood stock still, shell-shocked until he gathered the composure to chase after the other man again.

"Flack! Flack!" Danny reached the the other detective and had to jog to keep up with his long-legged strides.

"Flack, listen, you know what it's like to love two people! To want two people...you know what it's like. Look at me." Flack sighed and stopped walking.

"Yeah, but I'd never have done that to you."

"I know. And I'm sorry. I am so sorry I hurt you, I can't explain that enough." Flack looked at Danny emptily.

"I'm a wreck, Danny. I can't be with you the way we both want. I can't....-"

"Sex is not the problem here, Flack. I don't care about that right now, I care about you. And part of the reason I was so upset the other night is because I feel helpless." Don looked back at the shorter man who looked equally as sad.

"I can't help you, I can't do anything to help you, and it kills me because I love you so much..I just...you know how I am. I always go off at the deep end, I always handle things wrong. I can't stand that I've hurt you-" Don sighed and pulled Danny into his chest, knowing and understanding that everything he said was completely true.

"I'm still angry, you know." Danny nodded against him.

"Listen, Mac pushed me away last night. Don't be angry with him."

"Yeah, like I'm supposed to believe that."

"No, it's true." 

"What? After like...a couple of hours?"

"No! A couple of seconds. And he only did that because of how much we both care about you....be angry with me, I'm the one who screwed up." Flack nodded.

"Big time-"

"Big time." Flack rolled his eyes but kissed Danny's head and bid him goodbye to travel to a new crime scene.

"How'd it go?" Danny flopped into the chair opposite Mac and sighed.

"Good, I think. I'm sorry, Mac-" Mac silenced him with a shake of the head.

"Don't be."

"But listen, do you get where I'm coming from on this- I love Don, I have for a long time....but now I know how you feel....I can't....stop thinking about you, either." Mac looked at Danny for a long time, he was clearly embarrassed, but determined to talk, to get everything out in the open. Mac nodded slowly.

"I think it's possible to have feelings for two people, yes."

"Exactly. Because, Flack's always loved you, but he just said he loves me too...look..I've seen the way you've been looking at Don recently...do you feel the same way?"


	24. Chapter 24

"Well?"

"I'm not discussing this, Danny, not here, and not now-"

"Why not?"

"Look, don't forget that I'm still your boss." Mac growled angrily as Danny continued to push him.

"You can throw your weight around all you like- you need to talk about this! We need to talk about this!"

"I don't think we do."

"Mac, on the list of all situations that need to be discussed - this is pretty damn high."

"Again, I don't agree." 

"Oh come on! Just say yes or no!"

"Leave, Danny-"

"What the hell are you so afraid of? Huh? You told me you love me...what's so different about loving two people?"

"I'm not ready to even think about that kind of relationship, and especially not in my office, and not when I have work to do!"

"Stop changing the subject-"

"Stop crossing the line."

"Or what?" Mac's chest heaved with angered breath as he stood.

"Or I'll fire you."

"Fine. Fire me, I'll still keep bugging you until you give me an answer-"

"You're not going to harass this out of me."

"I can, and trust me, I will." With that, Danny left to answer a phone call, and Mac was left feeling flustered and irritated, when Stella walked in he was cursing under his breath.

"You ok?"

"Yes. Why aren't you at the lawyer's office scene?"

"Because you posted me there over two hours ago - I just got back from the first round of processing. What's up with you?"

"Dammit! I wouldn't know any other team to be so damn unrespectful of their boss!"

"It's disrespectful, and man someone's really pissed you off - Danny?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Stella."

"Don't worry about it. You should go out tonight - you're really wound tight." Mac just nodded the comment off.

"So what did you find at the scene?"

"I found this." Mac groaned and sat down when she handed him the broken section of police badge in an evidence bag.

"Do we know whose it is yet?"

"No, still looking. I also found these." She handed him photographs.

"...these scuff marks on the window ledge look like some kind of anchoring device."

"Yeah....what with that and the clean, close-contact bullet wound to the head...I'm thinking someone took out a hit on James Gregory." Mac nodded.

"So our list of suspects is anyone who would want to kill a defence lawyer.....that really narrows the field." Stella chuckled and left.

"I'll work on it! Seriously- go out tonight." Mac sighed and left the office to head to another scene, leaving the ever-growing stack of paperwork for a later date.

Danny was amazed and thrilled when Don pulled him into his car late that night and drove them to his apartment.  
"You...uh, ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good. You?"

"I'm pretty good thanks....so how come I got this nice surprise tonight?"

"I wanted to see you. What are we ordering for dinner?"

"Li's restaurant?"

"I could go for some Chinese tonight, yeah. As long as we get the-"

"Special chicken chow mein?" Don's smile said it all and Danny grinned.

"Stop it." Don said through a smile later that night, as they finished off the last of the Chinese takeout.

"Stop what?"

"Making me laugh...I'm meant to be mad at you."

"You can't stay mad at this forever." Don chuckled and pulled Danny over his lap.

"True." Danny sighed as Flack's lips found the weak spot below his ear.

"Stop-"

"Why?"

"Because you're gonna make me do something stupid again."

"Maybe that's ok."

"Why would it be ok now? Of all times? When you're mad at me-" Flack kissed him and Danny relished his hands snaking just into the top of his jeans, gripping his hips, feeling his skin.

"Because I think we've got through the worst. I think the counsellor doesn't get paid enough. I think Samantha is damn smart when she's sober....and I think I love you." Danny blinked at him, and Don just smiled.

"Come with me." Danny's heart was in his mouth as they kissed on Don's bed. Don's fear - as they stripped one another down, littering kisses and touches on each other's skin, becoming closer than they ever had before - was bared for Danny to see, and Danny approached it, handled it, and gradually pushed it away until both of them were completely devoid of sane thought. 

"I want you...so bad." Danny's hips stuttered with his words, and Don reached into the cabinet, catching his wrist on the corner as he always did, and producing a plastic wrapper and a tube.

"Can I..?" Danny nodded and took the items from him. Don groaned as he slipped the latex onto his leaking erection, and then watched hungrily as Danny prepared himself. Don pulled him further up over his body and took Danny into his mouth as he prepared him, stretched him out, determined not to hurt him.

"Shit...stop....I don't wanna cum like this..." Danny shuffled back as Don sat up and wriggled his hips gradually down. Don gasped and gripped Danny's muscled thighs as he pushed down onto him. He sat up, wrapping his arms around Danny's waist. Danny held onto his shoulders, adjusting his position until he could roll his hips in a way that had them both breathless in minutes. Don eventually lost control and flipped them over, hips slamming against Danny's thighs until they reached loud, shuddering orgasms. As Don pulled out, Danny reached up and kissed him gently.

"I've wanted that for years, wanted you."

"Thank you..." Don breathed, pushing his forehead against Danny's with his eyes closed.

"For?"

"Taking it all away."

Mac ignored the eyes on him. He could feel the pair staring at him intently, as they had been for the past hour and a half, but he didn't care. He wasn't interested. He hadn't turned around to look at whoever was staring at him, but he didn't need to. The only two people he was interested in were probably together somewhere, making up.

"You're a slow drinker." Mac looked up and the smiling face was surprisingly handsome. He gestured to the glass, the beer in which had gone flat long before.

"Oh, yeah..I guess." The man ordered two and Mac bit his lip, wondering how he could get out of the increasingly frightening situation.

"I'm Cain."

"Mac." The man with black and silver hair sat down next to him.

"So what's troubling you, Mac?"

"Oh, nothing much.." The man's face held a hint of a smile and was the kind of face you wanted to like immediately. Mac sighed.

"Just......"

"Everything?" Mac chuckled.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"You're a cop?"

"Yeah, what do you do?" Why was he asking? Mac kicked himself mentally.

"I'm an antiques collector. Interior design...things like that." Mac nodded.

"Impressive."

"I wouldn't say that...interesting, maybe." They laughed quietly and Cain took a sip of his drink. He was quirkily dressed, in dark brown shoes, deep green trousers, a tartan blazer and a navy blue or black shirt - in the light, Mac couldn't tell - but somehow still sleek and fashionable. Mac cursed his inner attractions and came up blank on ways to evade the situation and leave. A man knocked into him getting drinks, the bar was getting busier and the loud, happy, drunk people were beginning to annoy Mac.

"There's a nice place a few blocks over, little place, a bit eccentric - but it's quiet."

"Sounds great." Mac left gladly with Cain, and as they walked, he brought up the subject of music. His slender face lit up when Mac explained about his involvement with the band. Mac learnt that he played the saxophone and piano. A jazz man. By the end of the night, Mac was happy, in his gentle, reserved way. And Robert was very similar in that regard, quiet and respectful of Mac's boundaries. Exactly the kind of person Mac usually liked. The complete opposite of Danny. Loud, impulsive, incredible Danny.

"So you have my number...we should do this again."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Cain smiled and extended a tanned, slender hand.

"It was lovely to meet you, Mac."

"You too, goodnight."

"Goodnight." Mac watched Cain walk away.


End file.
